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May 10, 2008


Eastern Mennonite's Zucconi Named ODAC Sports Information Director of the Year

HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Mike Zucconi of Eastern Mennonite University has been named the 2007-08 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Sports Information Director of the Year, as voted on by the league's sports information professionals.

Zucconi recently completed his second year as the sports information director at EMU, where he is responsible for the promotion of the Royals’ 15-sport athletic program.  In this role, he is responsible for maintaining statistics and historical records for the athletic teams, supervising the school’s athletics website and is one of the conference’s pioneers of livestats over the internet.

“It is an honor to be recognized by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Sports Information Directors for this award,” said Zucconi.  “I am lucky to work with a terrific group of coaches who go above and beyond in their respective sports in working with the athletes and the staff.  I was extremely lucky to be able to learn from two outstanding SID’s when I was a student here and gain knowledge from them about how to be a professional and go about your work.  I look at my peers for that guidance now -- they are truly a talented group of people with whom I’ve had the privilege of working with.”

A 2005 Eastern Mennonite graduate, Zucconi returned to his alma mater in the summer of 2006 after one year as an intern in the Sports Media Relations Office at James Madison University.  While at JMU, he served as the primary contact for softball, tennis, gymnastics, golf and fencing.  Prior to arriving at JMU, Zucconi served a four-month internship with the Princeton (W.Va.) Rays, a rookie affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and a member of the Appalachian League.  He was also a four-year student assistant in the EMU Sports Information Office, assisting with game statistics and press releases, among other assignments.

"I think that Mike represents all the ideals that we wish to find in a colleague," said current ODAC SID Chairperson Brian Laubscher of Washington and Lee.  "He is a tremendous asset to Eastern Mennonite and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, and I wish to congratulate him on a well-deserved honor."

Zucconi is a native of Bridgewater, Va., and a 2001 graduate of Turner Ashby High School.  He is a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID).

Zucconi is the conference’s fourth recipient of the SID of the Year Award, joining Guilford's Dave Walters (2004-05), Laubscher (2005-06) and Mike Carpenter of Lynchburg (2006-07).