WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Point Loma Nazarene University's Athletic Communications Department led by Danny Barnts and Cassandra Kelley was selected as the 2017-18 PacWest Sports Information Department of the Year as announced by the PacWest office at the 2018 CoSIDA Convention on Thursday. Barnts and Kelley were selected by their fellow SIDs in the conference, becoming the first school to become a repeat honoree in consecutive years.

"Danny and Cassie worked hard this year to continue to improve the student-athlete experience on their campus. From the unique birthday posts on the Instagram page to video recaps of events, Point Loma has found new ways to put out creative content that engages the community at Point Loma," PacWest Sports Communications Director Jared Pine said. "Around the conference, Danny and Cassie have created a reputation for being reliable, responsive and great hosts at on-campus events. The ways that the two of them went above and beyond to help the rest of the conference is why they received this recognition from their peers."

Barnts completed his fifth year at Point Loma as the Assistant Athletic Director for Communications. He led the effort at Point Loma for communications and media relations in 11 varsity sports. This year he helped host the 2017 NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer West Regional, and hosted ESPN3’s nationally-televised basketball doubleheader against Hawai`i Pacific. Barnts also worked with Sidearm to redesign the athletics website at Point Loma to create modernized design and a more mobile-friendly platform.

“I am humbled and honored to win this award, but it is even more special to me because it was voted on by my peers,” Barnts said. “The PacWest Conference has an extremely deep and talented group of hard-working Sports Information Directors, to which I am so proud to belong. I could not have asked for a better crew in the country to work alongside. I would also like to offer a special ‘thank you’ to my friend and colleague Cassie Kelley. She came to PLNU and helped elevate our department to the next level. She has been a blessing to both myself and the athletic department from the very first day.”

Kelley joined the athletic department at Point Loma in the summer of 2017 and completed her first year as a graduate assistant in the athletic communications department after graduating from Ohio Valley University in West Virginia. Kelley was the primary contact at Point Loma for volleyball, women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s tennis. She also managed reporting on the athletic department’s community engagement throughout the year.

“I am honored that our department was selected to receive this award by our peers,” Kelley said. “It was truly a team effort and I am blessed to be a part of a great communications and athletic department as a whole. Danny has been a great mentor and I am happy to be able to work with throughout the year. The PacWest is a great conference and it has been a great first year working with everyone.”
 

PACWEST SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT OF THE YEAR AWARD
2009-10	John Barry	Hawai’i Pacific
2010-11	Scott Lowe	BYU-Hawaii
2011-12	Brandon Davis	Dominican
2012-13	Rob Garcia	Academy of Art
2013-14	Joe Reinsch Chris Baker	Azusa Pacific
2014-15	Brandon Davis	Dominican
2015-16	Rob Garcia Stephen Ellis	Academy of Art
2016-17	Danny Barnts	Point Loma
2017-18	Danny Barnts Cassandra Kelley	Point Loma