Roseland, NJ -- USA College Football, Inc. announces the establishment of the Pearson Media & Communications Award that will recognize the accomplishments of a Sports Information Director or a member of the professional sports media.

It is named in honor of A. John Pearson, the dedicated retired media director of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and former Sports Information Director at Bethany College. Pearson received the CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 that is presented annually to members who have served at least 25 years in the profession and are retiring or leaving the profession.  

The Pearson Award will be presented annually at the USA College Football All-American Banquet on the eve of the USA Football Holiday Bowl. It recognizes the accomplishments of an outstanding media/communications professional for his/her contributions to NAIA college football, demonstrating a long and consistent commitment to excellence and who by his/her activities, professional involvement and accomplishments have brought dignity and prestige to NAIA football. 

Pearson came to Bethany College in 1970, after eight years as the director of public relations and alumni affairs at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill. At Bethany, he took over as the director of college relations, which included sports information duties, and performed that job for the next 34 years (1992). He was SID for Bethany from 1992 until retiring in 2004, while concurrently serving as the Director of Sports Information for the KCAC from 1975 to his retirement in 2011.

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