The Georgia State Athletics Department received national recognition by its peers as it picked up three awards – two gold and one silver – at the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) awards. The Panthers brought home top honors for Group II in sponsorship activation and student promotion, while finishing second in promotional T-shirt design. The awards were announced as part of the association's 22nd annual convention in Orlando.
Awards are presented in 13 categories, with each category divided into three groups based on school size and conference affiliation to promote fairness. The 39 awards were handed out after the association received a record total with more than 1,000 entries.
The Panthers' student activation promotion garnered national buzz last fall – and a gold medal at NACMA – as its Cash Drop gave about 300 GSU students a chance to grab their share of $10,000 worth of vouchers dropped onto the field at the Georgia Dome during halftime of a game. The event was a hit on social media channels and was seen around the country on ESPN.
GSU's sponsorship program with Georgia's Own Credit Union was also a gold winner. The program included the $10,000 Cash Drop, along with a Penny Pickup (100,000 pennies on the court at a basketball game being picked up by children ages 12 and under), the Royal Blue Rumble (people in sumo-style costumes in a wrestling match), the Dime Jar Text 2 Win (guessing via text how many dimes were in a jar) and integration into the Panthers' Bleed Blue Rewards program to reward loyal followers on GSU's social media pages.
Grabbing the silver medal was the T-shirt design for the Zero Zero One concept original brought back from South Africa by the men's basketball team. It is a plea for hope from the children of South Africa that the Panthers saw firsthand on their trip during the summer of 2012 with Samaritan's Feet. The children would say, “If I don't receive breakfast (0) and I don't receive lunch (0), I hope I at least receive dinner (1).” The T-shirts were a way for the players to tell fans that nothing should be taken for granted.
The NACMA Best of Awards program is in its 10th year honoring outstanding achievement in collegiate athletics marketing and promotions. A complete list of award winners can be found here.
