FWAA “Super 11” Honors Includes San José State Athletics Media Relations

Dallas, Texas----- For the 11th consecutive year, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced its "Super 11" awards honoring sports information departments that stood out for exemplifying excellent media relations, job performance, and were nominated by media members for strong access.
 
            Besides selecting the 11 best NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information departments and a Coach of the Year for the 2020 season, the FWAA also issued three Special Merit Awards for job performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
            San José State University, the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and the Rose Bowl game received the FWAA's first Special Merit awards.
 
            The San Jose State athletics media relations staff consists of athletics media relations director Amy Villa, assistant media relations directors Matt Penland and Connor Pelton, and associate athletics director Lawrence Fan.

"This (2020) was a different kind of year, obviously," FWAA executive Director Steve Richardson said. "We tried to honor schools who went the extra mile in player and coach access remotely in most cases or to help writers in a scrambled season."
 
The Spartans' foursome provided media services and game day operations for the San José State football team against the tapestry of the 2020 Northern California summer wildfires, resulting effects of climate change, and in the social consciousness of #BlackLivesMatter; 10 days of preseason practices at Humboldt State University 325 miles away from campus three weeks before the start of the season; and hosted press box operations in San Jose, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada, based on local, county and state COVID-19 protocols.
 
"Starting with San Jose State football head coach Brent Brennan, the entire football staff and players, members of every athletics department unit and a number of on-campus departments collaborate with the athletics media relations staff to service the media covering the Spartans wherever and whenever games are played. They share in this award, too," said Fan. "And, the Mountain West media relations team, the San José State football opponent SID staffs, Humboldt State SID Joe Danahey and Eric Rhodes of the Offerpad Arizona Bowl were extremely helpful in a 2020 season like no other."
 
This year's Special Merit Award is the second FWAA honor for the San José State athletics media relations staff. In 2009, the first year of the awards program, the Spartans staff received recognition as a Super 11.
 
Appalachian State, Boston College, Clemson, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas State, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, and West Virginia were the 2020 Super 11 award recipients.
 
Indiana University's Tom Allen was named the FWAA Super 11 Coach of the Year.
 
About the Football Writers Association of America
 
A nonprofit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,300 men and women across North America who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters, and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards, a national poll, and its annual All-America teams. For more information about the FWAA and its awards programs, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com or 214-870-6516.