DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman University's Office of Athletic Communications garnered two district awards in the 2014 College Sports Information Directors Associations (CoSIDA)  Fred Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest, it was announced today.

Dan Ryan, a senior staff writer and historian for the B-CU Office of Athletic Communications, was recognized in the District 3 (including colleges and universities from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia) competition for Best Coach/Administrator Profile and Historical Feature for his “Eight Facts About the Jackie Robinson/B-CU Connection” piece combined with the department's CATEYE Network to win for his piece “Jackie Robinson Movie '42' Makes Waves in Daytona Beach” for Story with Video..

“When you're in athletics, it's always good to get the win, and it's especially satisfying that our communications efforts at B-CU have been recognized,” Ryan said. “I want to thank [B-CU Athletic Director] Lynn Thompson and [Assistant Athletic Director] Bryan Harvey for allowing me to come home and be close to my kids, and I guess a thank you is in order to Warner Brothers for making `42.'

“Bethune-Cookman's role in the Jackie Robinson story is amazing to tell, and I appreciated the chance to share stories that didn't make it in the movie, and also cover how our athletic department ran with the opportunity to expand the movie's ability to provide an incredible teaching moment for both our student-athletes and the community,” Ryan added. “I'm pleased that the efforts of Darian McCaskill and his crew of CatEye Network videographers and reporters were recognized as well.”

Ryan returned to the B-CU athletic department in 2010, serving as the primary contact for men's basketball, volleyball, softball, tennis and assisting with football game days. He also serves as the athletic department historian, and is concluding a research project involving the record books of his teams' sports as well as football.

“Dan Ryan did a great job on those two stories, and he certainly is worthy of the awards he has received for them,” Harvey said. “His ability to conduct heavy research and include those facts into those stories made them that much better, as well as making his ability to write with knowledge that much better.”

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