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Athletic Communications
Sports covered:
 Robert D. CornellDirector 32nd Year
Bob Cornell is in his 32nd year as Colgate's Director of Athletic Communications. He is responsible for all publicity and public relation matters concerning the Raider athletic department. The Athletic Communications office handles the compilation and distribution of all information on 25 intercollegiate sports, encompassing both men's and women's athletics. Prior to being named Sports Information Director at Colgate in May of 1976, Cornell held positions as Assistant Sports Information Director at Princeton University and Sports Information Director at the University of New Haven.
In July of 2001, Cornell was inducted into the College Sports Information Directors Association Hall of Fame. On September 19, 2003 he was inducted into the SUNY-Cobleskill Athletic Hall of Fame and on Dec. 4, 2003 he received the Scoop Hudgins Outstanding Sports Information Director Award from the All-American Football Foundation. In June of 2006, he was the recipient of a Maroon Citation given to him by the Colgate Alumni Corporation for his record of service to the university.
During his career in the sports information field, he has served as a press liaison for numerous NCAA and ECAC championships and regional events, including Media Coordinator of the NCAA Division I Golf Championships in 1977.
He served on the press liaison staff for the U.S. Olympic Committee at the 1984 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles and the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary. In addition, he was on the press liaison staff at four Olympic Festivals (1981, '82, '83, '87).
He has served on the Site Selection, Post-Graduate Scholarship, and Ethics Committees of the College Sports Information Directors of America. Cornell is a past president of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Sports Information Directors Association, and the 1992 recipient of the Irving T. Marsh Service Bureau Award, presented annually to the sports information director who has contributed the most to the work of the Bureau during the year and throughout his or her career.
A native of Rochester, New York, Cornell received his B.A. in Business Administration from the University of New Haven and an AAS in Business Administration from SUNY-Cobleskill. He holds membership in several professional organizations. Cornell resides in Hamilton with his wife Shirley and their two children, Rob and Ashley.  Michele KelleyAssistant Director 3rd Year Michele Kelley is in her second year as the assistant director of athletic communications at Colgate, and her third year working full-time with the Raiders. She works primarily with the men's ice hockey, field hockey, women's lacrosse and men's and women's swimming and diving teams. Before returning to Colgate, Kelley worked as a graduate assistant in the Athletic Communications Office at Syracuse University for two years. At Syracuse, she handled the day-to-day media and public relations duties for the men’s crew, women’s tennis, volleyball, cross country and track and field teams. In addition, she worked closely with the 2002-03 Orange men’s basketball team that won the program’s first NCAA Championship, and assisted with the football and women’s basketball teams. For two years, she was also the official statistician for the SU men’s lacrosse team, which won the program’s ninth national championship in 2004. As an undergraduate, Kelley worked for two years as a student assistant in Colgate’s Athletic Communications Office. During that time, she managed the public and media relations responsibilities for the field hockey, women’s ice hockey and women’s lacrosse teams, and assisted with the volleyball and men’s ice hockey programs. She returned to Colgate during the summer of 2003 for an internship, during which she helped with several graphic design projects in the department. At Colgate, Kelley is the athletics department representative on the university's social norming committee. She is an active member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), and serves on the Academic All-America committee. Last year, two of her publications received national recognition from CoSIDA: her field hockey guide was named the best in the country and finished second in the single-sport media guide competition, and her men's ice hockey guide was third in the nation. In 2002, she received the Wylie T. Smith Post-Graduate Scholarship from CoSIDA, as well as the Bill Esposito Award from ECAC-SIDA. Kelley graduated from Colgate in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and religion. In 2004, she received her master’s degree in public relations from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication. Kelley is single and resides in Hamilton.
 Lisa DiehlAdministrative Assistant 20th Year Lisa Diehl is in her 20th year as the Athletic Communications Administrative Assistant. She is responsible for the day-to-day clerical management of the office and the distribution of the Athletic Council newsletter as well as assisting with the maintenance of the athletics website. She also coordinates the distribution of press credentials and stats at football games and helps to organize and supervise the office's 23-member student staff. Diehl resides in Madison with her husband Keith and their two sons, Ryan and Dylan.
 Kristy McNeilAthletic Communications Assistant 2nd Year Kristy McNeil is in her second year as a Colgate's athletic communications assistant. McNeil is responsibile for all publicity concerning the women's ice hockey, men and women's soccer, men and women's tennis, men and women's crew and men's golf teams. McNeil, a native of Skaneateles, N.Y., graduated with high honors from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 2003 with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice. She worked for four years in the RIT sports information department, two of which were spent working under former Colgate assistant sports information director Jamie Joss. While at RIT, McNeil was the first recipient of the the J. Roger Dykes Sports Information Award. Following graduation, McNeil was hired as the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Bushnell Intern for public relations. After two months, she was promoted to ECAC Division I hockey communications intern for the 2003-04 season. In that capacity, she was in charge of public relations for both the men and women’s leagues, including organizing the media and publicity aspects of both league championships. Prior to joining the staff at Colgate, McNeil was the first sports information director at a small Division III college in upstate New York. She has worked many NCAA Division I events, including the 2004 men’s Frozen Four in Boston; the 2004 women’s Frozen Four in Providence, acting as a host media coordinator; and the 2005 men’s basketball NCAA regional in Syracuse, N.Y. She has also worked as a liaison for USA Hockey for its player development camps and festivals in Rochester, N.Y., in 2002 and 2003. McNeil is a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Sports Information Directors Association and College Sports Information Directors of America. CoSIDA recently honored McNeil, as they named her 2005-06 Colgate Women's Ice Hockey Media Guide third best in the nation in the single-sport category.
 Meredith RiederAthletic Communications Assistant 2nd Year Meredith Rieder is in her second year as an athletic communications assistant at Colgate University. She works primarily with the women's basketball, volleyball, men's lacrosse, and men's and women's cross country and track and field teams. Rieder came to Colgate after serving as the assistant director of athletic communications at Hobart and William Smith Colleges for three years. While at Hobart and William Smith she handled the day-to-day media and public relations duties for the men's and women's soccer, ice hockey, and women's lacrosse teams, while helping with many other tasks in the office throughout the year. Rieder helped HWS host the 2002 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship along with numerous other NCAA events and conference and ECAC championships. As an undergraduate, Rieder worked all four years as a student worker in Denison University's sports information office. Rieder was a four-year letterwinner for the Big Red soccer team, earning All-America honors as a senior and helping Denison to four NCAA Tournament berths and the 1998 conference championship. She recently was named to the NCAC's All-Decade Soccer Team. Rieder is an active member of the College Sports Informatin Directors of American (CoSIDA) and serves on the Academic All-America committee. Rieder graduated cum laude from Denison in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in communications and French. |
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