SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference Sports Information Directors Association (ECAC-SIDA) has named Slippery Rock University athletic communication student intern Matt Keenan as the recipient of the 2018 Bill Esposito Memorial Award.
 
The Bill Esposito Memorial Award is presented annually by ECAC-SIDA to a graduating college senior that wishes to pursue a career in athletic communications. The award will be presented at the ECAC-SIDA Awards Dinner June 7 in Burlington, Vermont during the organization's annual workshop.
 
ECAC-SIDA includes institutions from all levels of collegiate athletics along the East Coast. Former winners of the Esposito Award have come from as far south as Florida and as far north as Vermont and represent all three NCAA Divisions.
 
Keenan is the first Slippery Rock student to win the honor, the fourth student from a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference institution and the eighth from a Division II institution. He becomes the second award winner with an SRU connection, joining current director of athletic communication Jon Holtz, who won the award in 2007. Holtz currently serves as the first vice president of ECAC-SIDA and will take over as president of the organization June 8.
 
"I couldn't be more proud of Matt for everything he has accomplished over the last four years and the outstanding young professional he has become," said Holtz. "This honor recognizes his efforts in helping our office operate at such a high level and is a fitting end to his undergraduate career. Matt is going to make an excellent professional in the field of athletic communications and will be an exemplary representative of Slippery Rock University, our athletic communication office and the sport management program."
 
Keenan is currently finishing his final requirements in the sport management undergraduate program by serving as a full-time intern in the media relations office at the University of Pittsburgh, where he works alongside Slippery Rock alumnus and former SRU athletic communication student-worker Julie Jurich, who is an assistant director in the office at Pitt.
 
Keenan began working for Pitt towards the end of the fall season, volunteering at home football games before officially beginning his internship this spring. Since then, he has been involved in hosting numerous events on campus, including men's and women's basketball games and women's gymnastics meets.
 
"Matt has been a tremendous addition to our office this spring," said Matt Plizga, assistant athletic director of media relations at Pitt. "He has shown a tremendous work ethic and an innate ability to quickly adapt in a rapidly changing environment. He has handled everything we have thrown at him this semester and has continuously taken the initiative to seek out new tasks and experiences. Matt is well prepared for a bright future in this business."
 
Prior to this semester's internship, Keenan spent the majority of his four-year undergraduate career working in the athletic communication office at SRU, an opportunity he earned before even stepping foot on campus as a freshman. The spring before enrolling at SRU, Keenan came to The Rock to meet with Holtz and talk about the job and opportunities for students to gain experience outside of their academic curriculum.
 
'I was pretty impressed by Matt early on," said Holtz. "It's rare that a high school senior is thinking that far ahead and is that dialed in on what they want to do with their professional life, but Matt knew what he wanted to do and took all the right steps to make it happen. We offered him a spot on the staff as soon as he enrolled and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made."
 
Over the last four years, Keenan has been involved with all aspects of the athletic communication office, from handling stats and multiple broadcasting and game operations duties during home events to creating and updating hundreds of pages on the website and serving as the primary contact for the field hockey team. He worked full-time in the office during all semester and summer breaks in addition to his responsibilities during the academic year.
 
One of his biggest contributions to the office was his desire to enhance the live video broadcast offerings for the end-user, particularly during football games. He made it a point to learn the replay and production systems to offer viewers a more complete game-watching experience. His efforts in trying to enhance the quality of the product led to the athletic communication office making the leap this year to launch the Rock Athletics Digital Network, complete with its own applications for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Android TV.
 
The Bill Esposito Memorial Award is named in honor of one of the true patriarchs of the sports information/athletic communications profession, Bill Esposito, who served as the sports information director at St. Johns University in New York for 25 years. He was inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame in 1984 and passed away in 1995.
 
Keenan will attend the annual ECAC-SIDA Workshop June 5-8 in Burlington and will officially add his name to the list below during the ECAC-SIDA Awards Dinner June 7.
 

ECAC-SIDA Bill Esposito Memorial Award Winners

Year	Recipient	School
2018	Matt Keenan	Slippery Rock
2017	Katie Callahan	Ithaca
2016	Jordan Vitkauskas	Bloomsburg
2015	Stephen Waldman	Florida Southern
2014	Candace Pacheco	Bethany
2013	Derek Behrenshausen	York (Pa.)
2012	Chris Boswell	Mansfield
2011	Jess Lockerby	Rensselaer
2010	Ben Cohen	Wesleyan
2009	Jordean Matthews	Lincoln
2008	Tony Mancuso	Penn State
2007	Jon Holtz	Mansfield
2006	Beth Long	Syracuse
2005	Jonathan Maggart	Le Moyne
2004	Tyson Hubbard	Harvard
2003	Josh Kessler	Saint Michael's
2002	Michelle Kelley	Colgate
2001	Aimee Hall	SUNY Brockport
2000	Kate Mahar	St. Bonaventure
1999	Gregg Pastore	SUNY Brockport
1998	Michael Donlin	Colgate
1997	Heidi Roth	Elmira
1996	Frank Thompson	Bucknell

 
 
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