COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – For the second straight year, the Colorado Mesa Athletic Communications Staff was announced as the J.W. Campbell/Con Marshall Sports Information Department of the Year on Wednesday (June 18) afternoon by the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
The award is bestowed upon annually to the athletic communications staff in the conference that has made the biggest impact during the most recent academic year. The award is voted on by the 15 conference SIDs who provide their top three choices without voting for themselves.
 
This is the fourth time Colorado Mesa has claimed the award with the others coming at the end of the 2017-18 season, 2020-21 season and last year's 2023-24 season. Assistant Athletic Director of Communications Dave Jahnke has headed all four of those departments and sports information assistant Chris Day has been a part of all four honors and claimed three honors of his own as the SID at Adams State.
 
The staff is rounded out by Gypsy Fisher, Dylan Weaver, Patti Arnold, and Ellis Dunn. Fisher produces all the video streaming for the athletic department on the RMAC Network while Weaver assisted in coverage of soccer, basketball, and softball events in the first of his two-year graduate program. Arnold has been instrumental in coverage of Maverick football, women's basketball and baseball while also writing student-athlete features. Her story on swimmer Melaina Howard during Officials Week and her piece on Izaak Siefken's transition from baseball pitcher to javelin thrower reached NCAA.com.

The newcomer to the group was Ellis Dunn who was hired as the Director of Creative Media taking over for Theo Smith, who started the position two years prior before taking a job at Louisville in December. Dunn produced several videos for the Maverick programs in the spring with large viewership numbers, including his work on the Izaak Siefken story that was viewed over 31,000 times.

The staff successfully provided media coverage of six RMAC Championship events (men's swimming & diving, women's swimming & diving, women's basketball, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, and baseball) during the 2024-25 season. As a part of those championships, the Colorado Mesa staff assists in statistical coverage, video streaming, photography, post-game press conferences and interviews.
 
The team is also supported by several student staff workers, interns, and part-time workers that assist in photography, play-by-play and color commentary, and gameday operations.
 
The SID Department of the Year award is named after two RMAC Hall of Fame sports information directors. J.W. Campbell who was a long-time SID at Western Colorado University (WCU), and Con Marshall who spent 36 years as a Sports Information Director at Chadron State College (CSC).
 
Colorado Mesa will accept the J.W. Campbell / Con Marshall Sports Information Department of the Year at the annual RMAC Hall of Fame banquet on July 10 in Colorado Springs.
 
Recipients of the J.W. Campbell / Con Marshall Award:
2024-25: Colorado Mesa
2023-24: Colorado Mesa
2022-23: Colorado School of Mines
2021-22: Colorado School of Mines
2020-21: Colorado Mesa
2019-20: Colorado School of Mines
2018-19: Colorado School of Mines
2017-18: Dave Jahnke, Colorado Mesa
2016-17: Tim Flynn, Colorado School of Mines
2015-16: Jared Verner, UCCS
2014-15: Andy Schlichting, MSU Denver
2013-14: Alex Helmbrecht, Chadron State
2012-13: Colin Bonnicksen, Colorado School of Mines
2011-12: Anthony Sandstrom, CSU Pueblo
2010-11: Andy Schlichting, MSU Denver
2009-10: Peter Yazvac, Nebraska-Kearney
2008-09: Jeff Duggan, Colorado School of Mines
2007-08: Chris Day, Adams State
2006-07: Dough Fitzgerald, UCCS
2005-06: Chris Day, Adams State / Peter Yazvac, Nebraska-Kearney
2004-05: Jason McCullough, Fort Hays State
2003-04: Greg Murphy, Colorado School of Mines
2002-03: Jeff Duggan, Regis
2001-02: Chris Day, Adams State