2006-07 News Archives
Penn State University’s Jen Armson Named
2005-06 AVCA Grant Burger Media AwardSM Recipient
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The American Volleyball Coaches
Association (AVCA) is proud to announce that Penn State University
Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Jen Armson has been
selected as recipient of the 2005-06 AVCA Grant Burger Media
AwardSM.
The AVCA expanded the media award’s scope in 2004-05 by
having a finalist in four different categories: broadcast, print,
web and sports information/athletic communications. Further, the
finalist for the sports information/athletic communications
category came from region winners from each of the NCAA
divisions.
AVCA
Sports Info Jen Armson Penn State University
men’s/women’s athletic communications
Armson serves as the primary media contact for both the nationally
ranked men’s and women’s volleyball teams at Penn State
University. In the past year, she served as the media coordinator
for the women’s volleyball NCAA Division I Regional
Championship and the NCAA National Collegiate Men’s
Volleyball championship hosted by Penn State. Armson created a
weekly document in April entitled “Around the Nation”
to help promote men’s volleyball nation-wide and to help draw
local interest in the men’s championship that sold out for
the NCAA title match. She assisted the AVCA and USA Volleyball by
placing an advertisement on Penn State’s men’s
championship web site to promote the co-sponsored Men’s
Championship Coaching Clinic held on May 6. Armson produced the
winning publication in the Viggo O. Nelson National Collegiate
Media Guide contest conducted by USA Volleyball in the men’s
category.
“Jen has gone above the call of duty in promoting volleyball
and working with the AVCA,” Bill Kauffman, AVCA senior
director of communications, awards and technology, said. “She
has performed at a high level in promoting both men’s and
women’s volleyball at Penn State. Jen has been a valuable
asset to the AVCA media relations office in providing feedback on
Association programs and assisting other athletic communication
contacts in such areas as in-game computerized stats. A collegiate
volleyball player for Northwestern University (Illinois) from 1997
to 2000, she brings a unique approach and direct experience within
the game to develop media tools for broadcast, print and
web.”
Armson’s volleyball communications experience includes
serving as media coordinator for five NCAA Division I Women’s
Volleyball Championship first and second round events (2001, 2002,
2003, 2004, 2005) and two NCAA National Collegiate Men’s
Volleyball Championships (2002 and 2006). She was hired at Penn
State in July 2001 as a sports information intern after serving as
a student assistant in the Northwestern media services offices from
June 1999 to June 2001.
“I am honored to have earned the AVCA Grant Burger Media
AwardSM,” Armson said. “As a former Northwestern
volleyball player, my new role with the sport since joining Penn
State in 2001 has been an exciting one. My teams have provided me
an excellent platform with which to spread the word about a game I
love so much. In addition to working with what I believe are the
two best coaches in the game, I also have the privilege of working
with the best media contingent in the nation. Thank you to the AVCA
and the entire volleyball community.”
Armson was a four-year volleyball letterwinner at Northwestern from
1997 to 2000 and served as co-captain of the Wildcats her senior
year. She was selected as Academic All-Big Ten three times and
graduated from Northwestern in June 2001 from the Medill School of
Journalism with a bachelor of science degree in journalism.