Scott Robbs Named 2004-05
AVCA Grant Burger Media Award Recipient
D.C. Koehl, Sandy Gholston, CSTV.com award finalists

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce that Scott Robbs has been selected as the recipient of the 2004-05 AVCA Grant Burger Media Award. Robbs currently is the play-by-play radio announcer for the University of Hawai'i men's and women's volleyball programs.

The AVCA expanded the award's scope this season by having a finalist in four different categories: broadcast, print, web and sports information. Further, the finalist for the sports information category came from region winners from each of the NCAA divisions.

AVCA Grant Burger Media Award Finalists

Robbs started announcing Rainbow Wahine and Warrior road matches in 1999 when he lived in Las Vegas, along with road baseball, softball and women's basketball games. In 2002, he moved to Honolulu and started doing all of the men's and women's matches full-time. While in Las Vegas, he did high school football games and announced University of Nevada-Las Vegas baseball games for five years. Robbs followed his father Don's footsteps into the broadcast business and is one of two father/son tandems at KKEA 1420AM Sports And Talk Radio.

"Scott has provided a balanced radio broadcast of Hawai'i men's and women's volleyball for several years through the radio and internet audio streams," AVCA Senior Director of Communications, Awards and Technology Bill Kauffman said. "Granted, his broadcasts promote the home team as it should, but he is by far not one-sided. He provides a balanced account of what he sees - good and bad for both teams - and describes it with a unique Hawaiian flair. His knowledge about the sports is diverse, and it is this knowledge that allows him to provide a one-man radio broadcast acting as both the play-by-play and color commentary. Being his audience has become world-wide through the internet, he has gained a following that truly appreciates his ability, whether the listener is a Hawai'i fan or not."

Robbs also hosts a weekday afternoon talk show called "The Sports Bar," as well as the "Da Kine Sports Show" on Tuesday mornings. In 2004, he volunteered for the National Technical Assistance Center for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities (NTCA-AAPID). Robbs, who served a four-year stint in the army, mentored a young lady on Disability Mentoring Day Hawai'i in Oct. 2004.

Koehl has worked with women's and men's volleyball at Ohio State for 32 years, having worked full-time for the Buckeyes since 1973. He prepares the print, television and radio media with Ohio State and volleyball facts that can be readily accessible for matches. In addition to his work at OSU, he is the director of media relations for the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association of which the men's volleyball program is a member. Koehl was honored by USA Volleyball in 2000 as its recipient of the Boyden Award for service to the promotion of volleyball on a national level.

"D.C. has been in the business of sports information for over 30 years, and he has not forgotten the basic tools to media information even in this advanced technological era," Kauffman said. "He still utilizes the personal touch through phone calls to pitch an idea. He has provided ideas on how to better promote the AVCA and volleyball in general to the sports information community, a key support group in getting the volleyball message out to the media. D.C. not only provides quality work at a Big Ten school in women's volleyball, but he also serves as sports information contact for the Buckeyes men's volleyball team and serves as its league's public relations director. This triple-duty of volleyball sports information keeps D.C. on his game throughout the season, and has become a valuable resource to the AVCA for volleyball information and guidance as to what other SIDs are thinking."

Gholston has covered Ferris State athletics since 1997 at the Big Rapids (Mich.) Pioneer. He is dedicated to covering volleyball both at home and away matches with pre- and post-match stories. Gholston covers the volleyball team year-round with news about recruits, alumni and other features. His coverage has helped to increase attendance at matches over the last couple of years. He has won several awards for his coverage of FSU, which included the 2003 GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) Media Service Award and the 2002 United States Tennis Association's Fred Burns Journalism Award.

"Sandy has aided the Ferris State volleyball program with consistent media coverage throughout the year to the level expected for sports such as football and basketball," Kauffman said. "His writing style brings the reader into the story and provides the casual volleyball fan details that they can understand, which brings about a higher retention rate for Ferris State volleyball attendance and general awareness."

Cstv.com is part of the multi-media company CSTV Networks, Inc. that includes the first 24-hour college sports television network, College Sports TV and the first 24-hour college sports radio network, SIRIUS College Sports Radio. Cstv.com has become a key resource for collegiate volleyball information, whether provided through the college partnerships it has developed for on-line web sites or through AVCA releases. Cstv.com is one of the few web sites nationally that provides quality volleyball coverage for not only women's volleyball, but men's volleyball as well.

"Cstv.com has developed a significant web site in the promotion of the sport of volleyball," Kauffman said. "It is one of the few web sites nationally that provides quality volleyball coverage to not only women's volleyball, but men's volleyball as well. It provides key information such as top headlines sorted by date, Gametracker information for live stats, links to streaming audio and video to volleyball matches and information as provided by the AVCA such as polls and CSTV/AVCA Facts on File."

A list of the NCAA SID Region Honorees for the AVCA Grand Burger Media Award is listed below.

NCAA Division I Sports Information Director Region Honorees

NCAA Division II Women's Sports Information Director Region Honorees

NCAA Division III Women's Sports Information Director Region Honorees

NCAA Division I-II Men's Sports Information Director Region Honorees

NCAA Division III Men's Sports Information Director Region Honorees