Charlotte, NC – To continue to provide student-athletes with the most distinguished accolades throughout their career, the NJCAA has teamed up with College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) to provide two-year student-athletes with the opportunity to earn Google Cloud Academic All-America® honors beginning in the spring of 2019.
The NJCAA will be combined with two-year institutions from the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA), the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), and Canadian Universities as part of a newly formed division.
"By creating a division solely for two-year colleges and Canadian institutions, the number of two-year student-athletes recognized for excellence on and off the field increases and brings deserved attention to those at that level," said Laurie Bollig, CoSIDA director of membership engagement.
The Google Cloud Academic All-America® program has been primarily represented by four-year institutions since 1952. Prior to the recent two-year division addition, the Google Cloud Academic All-America® program was separated into four divisions – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and a combined division for NAIA, two-year colleges, and Canadian schools. Starting with the 2018-19 academic year, the program will add an NAIA-only division and one specifically for two-year and Canadian schools.
For student-athletes to be eligible for the Google Cloud Academic All-America® nomination process, colleges must be dues-paying members of CoSIDA. As of 2018, the NJCAA featured 38 CoSIDA members. To see the benefits of being a member of CoSIDA, go to www.CoSIDA.com and click on the Membership tab.
CoSIDA holds protected trademark rights to the phrases "Academic All-America," "Academic All-District," "Academic All-America Hall of Fame and "Academic All-American." Its members are responsible for the selection and recognition of close to 5,000 student-athletes each year through the awards program. The NJCAA will continue to award its annual three All-Academic teams.
"The NJCAA prides itself with its superior academic success at the two-year level," stated NJCAA Director of Marketing Ricky Webster. "For our student-athletes to receive the distinguished honor of earning Academic All-America® recognition means a great deal for our association. We look forward to our CoSIDA presence at the two-year level to continuously grow in years to come."
CoSIDA provides opportunities at a multitude of levels for professional development in the areas of college sports marketing, communication, sports information, and many more. The annual CoSIDA convention hosts approximately 1,000 attendees from various levels of college athletics each summer.
For more information on the Google Cloud Academic All-America® program, visit: GOOGLE CLOUD ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA
To learn how you can become a member of CoSIDA and learn of its professional and personal opportunities, contact Laurie Bollig, CoSIDA Director of Membership Engagement, at: lauriebollig@cosida.com