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College Sports Information Directors of America Collaborates with Google Cloud As Title Sponsor of Academic All-America® Program
Title sponsorship is a collaboration between the NCAA, CBS Sports, Turner Sports and CoSIDA. Program honors highest achieving student-athletes for combined academic and athletic success.
AUSTIN, Texas (May 7, 2018) – As part of the partnership between Google Cloud and NCAA®, College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) has teamed up with the Google Cloud as the title sponsor of CoSIDA’s Academic All-America® Program, the nation’s premier intercollegiate athletics scholar-athlete awards program.
This Google Cloud-CoSIDA agreement was developed in collaboration with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), CBS Sports and Turner Sports.
Google Cloud’s collaboration with CoSIDA expands the company’s support of intercollegiate athletics and student-athletes and universities. In December 2017, Google Cloud became the NCAA’s official cloud provider, with the NCAA using Google Cloud’s machine learning, analytics and data services to better serve the needs of its colleges and universities, athletic teams, and fan base.
“We are excited that Google Cloud has extended its support to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® program, which for more than six decades now has defined the meaning of excellence in athletics and academics in college sports,” said Bob Williams, NCAA Senior Vice President of Communications. “Through this innovative new agreement, Google, CoSIDA and the NCAA will shine even more light on the amazing accomplishments of exceptional student-athletes as they excel in the classroom and ultimately earn their college degree, which is the heart of our mission.”
As part of the collaboration, Google Cloud receives immediate entitlement of the program — the Google Cloud Academic All-America® Program presented by CoSIDA — as well as for each of its individual programs, including the Academic All-America® and Academic All-District® Teams, Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year, the Academic All-Americas® of the Year and the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame. This Hall of Fame was established in 1988 to honor past Academic All-America student-athlete standouts who have gone on to outstanding achievements in their chosen professional careers.
The Academic All-America® program has honored thousands of student-athletes since its inception in 1952. It encompasses all sports in which the NCAA conducts championships. There are four divisions in this national program, with NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III teams and a separate College Division program combining NAIA, Canadian and two-year school honorees.
There are separate teams selected in football, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball and men’s and women’s track and field and cross-country.
For student-athletes in other sports, such as swimming and diving, tennis, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse and more, they are eligible for the Academic All-America® men’s and women’s at-large programs. The Academic All-District® teams (in eight geographic districts) are voted on by the CoSIDA membership at large, with First Team selections advancing to the national Google Cloud Academic All-America® ballot. At that point, First Team, Second Team and Third Team Academic All-America® performers are chosen by vote of the CoSIDA Board of Directors, general membership and Academic All-America® Committee members.
“I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Google Cloud as the title sponsor for the Academic All-America program,” boasted Rob Carolla, CoSIDA President and Director of Communications for the College Football 150th Anniversary. “The thousands of great students who achieve academic excellence each year as part of the signature program of our organization make us all extremely proud. With over 60 years of history honoring greatness on the field and in the classroom, we look forward to collaborating with Google on how we can increase the recognition for these extremely impressive student-athletes.”
The Google Cloud Academic All-America® Program is a highly selective scholar-athlete honor. Approximately 2,000 of the 12,000 student-athletes nominated annually receive "First-Team Academic All-District" honors, and approximately 800 currently gain the prestigious Google Cloud Academic All-America® honor.
“We’re excited to welcome Google Cloud as the new title sponsor of the Academic All-America® program,” stated Doug Vance, CoSIDA Executive Director. “Clearly, this is a perfect match as it pairs a program that is defined by honoring success and achievement in the classroom with a powerful brand that is one of the most recognized around the world for making us a more informed society. And it brings together an organization and a company that are both built on the foundation of sharing information. The collaborative support from the NCAA and President Mark Emmert were significant in the pursuit process of a new title sponsor for the program. CoSIDA is deeply appreciative of the NCAA in helping fuel our title search process.
“Without question, Google Cloud’s support is a meaningful step forward and will bring further distinction for the program and CoSIDA. This will be a collaborative effort and one that will offer immense impact in the overall support of CoSIDA’s mission in honoring outstanding student-athletes for excellence in the classroom and in competition.”
About CoSIDA
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), now in its 61st year as an organization, was founded in 1957-making it the second oldest management association in intercollegiate athletics. Today, it is a vibrant 3,100-plus member national association comprised of the athletic communications, media relations and sports information professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. CoSIDA has two primary missions as it seeks to have its profession, organization and membership take its rightful leadership role within the decision-making levels of the intercollegiate athletics community: 1) Help the communications professionals at all collegiate levels with professional development and continuing education as it relates to strategically dealing in an effective manner with the various issues, challenges and opportunities that now exist within the fast-paced and ever-changing communications environment. 2) Play a significant leadership and resource role ( i.e. “Strategic Communicators for College Athletics” ) within the overall enterprise of collegiate athletics thus helping the other management groups and their respective memberships deal with a set of communications-based issues that is the most complex and challenging in history.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a diverse association of more than 1,100 member colleges and universities that prioritize academics, well-being and fairness to create greater opportunities for nearly half a million student-athletes each year. The NCAA provides a pathway to higher education and beyond for student-athletes pursuing academic goals and competing in NCAA sports. More than 54,000 student-athletes experience the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics by competing in NCAA championships each year. Visit ncaa.org and ncaa.com for more details about the Association and the corporate partnerships that support the NCAA and its student-athletes.
About CBS Sports
CBS Sports, a year-round leader in television sports, broadcasts a portfolio of events on the CBS Television Network, including THE NFL ON CBS; “Thursday Night Football;” college football, including the SEC ON CBS; college basketball, including the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship; golf, including The Masters®, PGA Championship and PGA TOUR; and CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR. In addition, the division includes CBS SPORTS NETWORK, the 24-hour home of CBS Sports; produces INSIDE THE NFL for SHOWTIME; and partners with CBSSports.com in creating a recognized leader in digital.
About Turner Sports
Turner Sports, a division of Turner, is an industry leader in the delivery of premium sports content across all multimedia screens. Turner Sports’ television coverage includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, ELEAGUE and professional golf, along with the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League beginning in Summer 2018. The company also manages some of the most popular sports destinations across digital and social platforms including Bleacher Report and its top-rated app, NCAA.com and the critically acclaimed NCAA March Madness Live suite of products, PGA.com and the Sports Emmy Award-winning PGA Championship LIVE, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile sites and connected device apps. Turner Sports and the NBA jointly manage NBA Digital, a robust collection of offerings including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, the NBA App and NBAGLEAGUE.com.