Ferris State's Rob Bentley Tabbed AVCA D2 Midwest Region SID Of The Year
Big Rapids, Mich. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) recently announced its 2015 recipients of the Grant Burger Media Award and Ferris State University Assistant Athletics Director for Communications Rob Bentley was honored as the AVCA's 2015 NCAA Division II Midwest Region Sports Information Director of the Year.
A total of only eight Division II SID's were honored from across the country with a single recipient recognized from each respective geographic region. He was nominated for the honor by the FSU Volleyball coaching staff & longtime head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm.
Bentley, who recently completed his 15th year as a member of FSU's Athletics Communications staff, coordinates the Bulldogs' media relations, broadcast, multimedia and social media efforts. In addition to his duties as Assistant Athletics Director, he also is the radio voice of Ferris State football, basketball and volleyball in addition to being the host of the Ferris Sports Update Television Show.
The AVCA Grant Burger Media Award is an honor intended to recognize members of the media who have been involved in the advancement of the sport of volleyball, whether it be through consistent coverage in all mediums (sports information, print, broadcasting, web content, college student reporter and social media), production of volleyball-specific publications or extensive radio and/or television exposure. It is named in honor of Grant Burger, former Director of Sports Information and Associate Director of the AVCA (1988-92), whose hard work, innovative mind, knowledge and enthusiasm took the areas of media relations and publications at the AVCA to a higher level and increased awareness of the sport of volleyball nationwide.
In his role as the sports information director for the university's 17 teams, Bentley plays a lead role in publicizing the Bulldog volleyball program in addition to overseeing statistics, student-athlete award nominations and historical functions among his other responsibilites. Ferris State Volleyball was featured prominently throughout last fall's conference championship campaign across the state on the school's television show and Bentley also covered FSU's postseason run with live local radio and internet play-by-play coverage of the GLIAC and NCAA Tournaments on the Bulldog Sports Network and flagship station Sunny 97.3 FM.
Along with the SID and broadcast functions, he also helped spearhead increased social media coverage for volleyball and live broadcast video streaming of selected home matches. His efforts were aided by the athletics communications staff, including recently-departed Athletics Communications Associate Dominic Hennig and students.
Bentley previously received the regional SID of the Year honor from the AVCA in 2007 and has also been recognized nationally in the past thru various awards competitions. A member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), he currently serves on the university Social Media Team and the Sports Leadership Institute Advisory Board.
Presently, Bentley is also the regional coordinator for the Division II Men's Basketball Midwest Region Media Poll and is a national committee voting member for the D2 Men's Basketball Media Poll along with the Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-Super Region squad. Last year, he was honored as one of Ferris State's Distinguished Staff Award recipients.
In 2014, the Bulldog Volleyball program posted a 24-6 overall record and claimed both the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Regular-Season Championship along with the GLIAC Tournament title. FSU also earned a fourth-straight berth to the NCAA Tournament one year after reaching the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.