Orlando, Florida -- At the opening of the 16th Annual Convention of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) at the World Center Marriott Resort, NACMA President Trip Durham announced the formation of the "Community Engagement Award of Excellence," geared towards NCAA Division II member institutions. The inaugural award was presented to the Colorado School of Mines for their work with "Evening in the Park".

The "Community Engagement Award of Excellence" was designed to recognize one Division II school for its work in tying together the athletics department, student-athletes and the community where the school resides with an enriching program.

The essence of the Community Engagement Division II initiative is bringing the division's strategic position platform to life at the local level.

The Colorado School of Mines activity was conducted on the mall in the middle of campus. Almost nothing was asked of those who attended, except to have a good time. Local businesses provided food, soft drinks and entertainment. The event focused on families, faculty and students hanging out with one another. There was live music, crafts, a mini-train ride for kids, inflatable slides and games. Local businesses set up exhibits, some of which featured drawings for prizes. Throughout the park, people sat on the grass, taking the opportunity to sit in the sunshine and talk to one another.

"This is great because you can't tell where the campus starts and the community ends, and that's what it's all about," said J.R. Smith, commissioner of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, of the event.

Colorado School of Mines Athletics Director Tom Spicer said he and his staff contributed about 120 hours of work, but only $1,000 of financial support. The Chamber of Commerce provided most of the volunteers to stage the event, with 69 local businesses bearing most of the financial load. Promotion was accomplished mostly through electronic media, with help from print, flyers and word of mouth.

"This was an opportunity to show Division II how the university and the city can work for the common good," Spicer said. "This was a concept that would get the community together and not be athletic in nature. We wanted to energize toddlers and senior citizens alike."

City of Golden Mayor Chuck Baroch, who applauded the institution's recent efforts to become more involved in overall community planning, said the "Evening in the Park" was a winner. "We are proud of our community, and anything we can do to tell the world what a great place Golden is."

In the public announcement of this new awards category, Durham conveyed to the membership in attendance that the award would be presented every year as part of the annual awards program. The awards program encompasses a multitude of recognitions from "Best Olympic Sport Promotion" by a college athletics department to "Best Television Commercial". Entries are judged and awarded based on criteria and size of institutional budgets and resources.

"We are very grateful to NACMA for their creation of an award that recognizes one of the central elements of Division II," stated Dr. Charles Ambrose, President of Pfeiffer University and Chair of the Division II President's Council. "Our institutions are committed to utilizing community engagement as a means to strengthening our student athlete's experience and subsequently our institution's value and relevance to the community's we serve. This award will help recognize this work and hopefully encourage all of us to strive to be even more engaged in the future. Hopefully, through this active partnership with NACMA and this annual award, our potential can be fully realized."

About NACMA: NACMA is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities; enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics; and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of athletics marketing administrators. For more information about NACMA, please visit www.nacma.com. NACMA is administered by NACDA. In its 42nd year, NACDA is the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 college athletics administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 2,000 athletics administrators annually attend the NACDA Convention. Additionally, NACDA administers 10 professional associations for the separate business units that report directly to the athletics director.