Constitution

Virginia Sports Information Directors
Constitution (Last revised July 30, 2024)



NAME
The organization shall be referred to as the Virginia Sports Information Directors and can be abbreviated as VaSID.

MISSION
VaSID exists to promote the accomplishments of the student-athletes of all Virginia institutions while supporting the sports information professionals at each institution.

HISTORY
The organization was formed when a group of sports information directors from Virginia met at the annual CoSIDA Convention in Dallas during the summer of 1982. As the idea of an organization unfolded, Kevin Keys, then SID at Liberty Baptist College, was given the responsibility of putting together the organizational guidelines and getting them to the advisory board in time for the 1982-83 basketball season.

The organization was officially formed when the VaSID Constitution was accepted on May 3, 1983. Elected as the inaugural president of VaSID was Rich Murray of James Madison. Jim Alnuti of the CIAA Office was elected to serve as Vice-President, while Kevin Keys held the first Secretary/Treasurer post. Serving as All-State season coordinators were Carol Hudson of Hampton, Tom Baker of VCU, Debbie Davis of Radford, and Hoke Currie of Longwood.
The inaugural VaSID advisory board was composed of: Jim Alnuti (CIAA), Lee Ashby (Lynchburg), Doug Elgin (Virginia), Carol Hudson (Hampton), Kevin Keys (Liberty), Rick Rogers (Radford) and Phil Stanton (Randolph-Macon).

MEMBERSHIP
VaSID is comprised of sports information or athletics communications professionals from intercollegiate institutions throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Membership is open to any individual affiliated with one of the state's institutions at the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, community college and independent levels, provided that individual's area of responsibility lies within the realm of sports information. Membership is also open to retired members of the profession.

DUES
VaSID members pay annual dues to the organization's treasurer with rates to be set at the annual business meeting. Current membership dues are $40 for full members and $20 for associate members. Associate memberships are intended for individuals who do not carry a full-time workload at their institution. All paid members may vote on All-State ballots for all sports at all division levels. Retiree membership is free and includes full voting privileges with a recommended minimum service of 10 career years in the profession in Virginia. The VaSID Executive Board maintains the right to refuse membership to any individual if it is deemed to be in the best interests of the organization.


EXECUTIVE BOARD
The VaSID executive board consists of the following leadership positions:

President
- Represents the organization at all functions where a representative of VaSID is requested or deemed beneficial.
- Writes or assigns articles intended to promote the organization.
- Appoints committees to deal with organizational issues.
- Oversees the All-State awards system and appoints coordinators for each sport.
- Plans the organization's annual business meeting.
- Elected to a two-year term, which is renewable at the membership's discretion.

Vice President
- Assist the President in all duties as necessary.
- Coordinates the organization's social media strategies.
- Elected to a two-year term, which is renewable at the membership's discretion.

Treasurer/Secretary
- Handle the financial affairs of the organization.
- Maintain organizational bank account.
- Processes all payments and collects annual membership dues.
- Provides updated financial data to the executive board as requested.
- Compiles financial report for review at annual business meeting.
- Handles all reservations and arrangements for the annual business meeting.
- Elected to a two-year term, which is renewable at the membership's discretion.

Webmaster
- Maintains the organization's online presence.
- Provides timely updates to the VaSID website in all areas with emphasis on the posting of All-State announcements.
- Receives a $500 annual stipend.
- Selected/renewed annually at the VaSID business meeting.

Awards Administrator
- Administers the organization's online voting process for all All-State awards.
- Handles all set-up procedures for all sports in the online system.
- Works with coordinators as the point person for all online voting issues.
- Receives a $500 annual stipend.


BUSINESS MEETINGS
The organization shall conduct at least one annual business meeting.


RECOGNITIONS

Distinguished Service Award
The VaSID Distinguished Service Award is given to individuals who have promoted college athletics and the concept of the student-athlete. To be eligible, a person should have been a part of the athletic community as a coach, administration or member of the media for a minimum of 20 years with particular emphasis on members of the sports information profession. The first award went to co-recipients Bob McLelland of the Roanoke Times and Marshall Johnson of the Associated Press in 1987.

Rich Murray Journalism Scholarship
The Rich Murray Journalism Scholarship is presented annually to a Virginia high school student who excels in the area of sports journalism and must be pursuing a college degree in journalism, communication or a related field, preferably at an institution in Virginia. Murray served the profession for nearly 40 years at James Madison University and the University of Virginia and remained heavily involved in VaSID during his entire career in sports information.


ALL-STATE AWARDS

Composition
VaSID shall award All-State Teams for the sports of baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, field hockey, football, men's golf, women's golf, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, softball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's tennis, women's tennis, volleyball and wrestling. In addition, the organization shall also compile information for an Academic All-State squad as well as an annual survey of success (All-Sports Survey) at state schools.

Divisions
All-State teams will be conducted for each sport for both a University Division and a College Division with the exception of a College Division only for men's lacrosse as well as one combined team for wrestling and women's golf. The University Division shall be defined as all state institutions competing at the Division I level. The College Division shall be defined as all state institutions competing at the Division II, Division III or NAIA level or through another independent arrangement. Additionally, the community college division will encompass all two-year institutions in the state.

Voting Privileges
Only members who have paid annual dues for the current academic year as well as retiree members may vote on All-State Teams. Any state SID, regardless of membership status, may nominate his/her student-athletes for All-State consideration. Coordinators should solicit nominations from all schools regardless of membership status. Paid members and retirees are encouraged to vote on all teams regardless of division.

Coordinators
Each All-State Team will be managed by a coordinator, who will solicit nominations, compile and distribute a ballot, tally results and compose a media release of the award winners. The release should then be distributed to all VaSID members, select media outlets and the VaSID webmaster. Coordinators are assigned at the annual business meeting. The organization's preference is that a coordinator's school participates in the assigned sport at the appropriate division level. The initial nomination solicitation should occur shortly after all state institutions have concluded the competitive sport season. Coordinators should communicate the timetable for nominations, voting and releasing results to all sport contacts.

Major Awards
All major awards (i.e. Player of the Year, Coach of the Year) should be a specific part of the nomination process and should be listed separately for voting on the All-State ballot with no more than one nominee from each school. The honoree should not be selected from the entire All-State ballot unless in a rare circumstance in which a coordinator deems it to be in the award's best interest. A Rookie of the Year is defined as a student-athlete in their first career year of collegiate competition.

Composition
All-State Teams for all sports and for all divisions shall be composed of Major Award honorees as well as a First Team and a Second Team. Voting shall be conducted in a manner awarding two points for a vote to the First Team and one point for a vote to the Second Team. Ballots shall NOT require ranking nominees on a numeric scale or selecting one batch of a specific number of honorees.

Sport Specifications
The following sport specifications apply to All-State Teams for both men's and women's sports and for both the University and College Divisions:

Baseball
Player of the Year
Pitcher of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team - C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, DH, UT, 3 SP, 2 RP

Basketball
Player of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team - Five (5) players regardless of position

Field Hockey
Player of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team - One (1) GK plus 10 position players consisting of at least three each of Forward/Attacker, Midfielder and Defender

Football
Offensive Player of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team - QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, 5 OL, 4 DL, 3 LB, 2 CB, 2 S, PK, P, RS

Golf
Player of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team - Five (5) individuals regardless of slot

Lacrosse
Player of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team (women) - One (1) GK plus 10 position players consisting of at least four each of Forward/Attacker, Midfielder and Defender
All-State Team (men) - GK, 3 Attack, 3 Midfield, 3 Defense, Long Stick, Face off

Softball
Player of the Year
Pitcher of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team - C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, DP/UT, 3 P

Soccer
Player of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team - One (1) GK plus 10 position players consisting of at least three each of Forward/Attacker, Midfielder and Defender

Swimming
Coach Of the Year
Swimmer of the Year
Rookie of the Year
All-State Team – One (1) 200-free Relay, One (1) 400-Free Relay, One (1) 800-Free Relay, One (1) 200 Medley Relay, One (1) 400 Medley Relay, 2 Free Distance, 3 Free Sprints, 2 Back, 2 Breast, 2 Fly, 2 IM

Tennis
Player of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team - Six (6) individuals regardless of slot and three (3) doubles tandems regardless of slot

Track and Field
Coach of the Year
Track Athlete of the Year
Field Athlete of the Year
Track Rookie of the Year
Field Rookie of the Year
Indoor All-State Team – One (1) 4x400 Relay, One (1) DMR, 2 Distance, 1 Heptathlon, 1 Hurdles, 4 Jumps, 2 Mid-Distance, 3 Sprints, 2 Throws
Outdoor All-State Team – One 4x100 Relay, One 4x400 Relay, 1 Decathlon, Three Distance, 2 Hurdles, 4 Jumps, 2 Mid-Distance, 3 Sprints, 4 Throws

Women's Volleyball
Player of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team - Six (6) individuals regardless of position one (1) libero/defensive specialist

Wrestling
Wrestler of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-State Team - 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197, 285

Community College All-Stars
A 12-person team will be awarded covering all sports sponsored by the state's two-year institutions. There will be no limits on the number of individuals from one school or from one sport.

Academic All-State
Each state institution, regardless of membership status, shall have the opportunity to highlight six student-athletes as part of the Academic All-State squad. There are no specifications for each school's six nominees as far as sport representation or gender. Honorees may not be freshmen and must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25. Schools are encouraged to select student-athletes they believe to best represent combined excellence in athletic and academic achievement.
Honorees are listed as Name, Class, Sport, Major, Hometown, GPA

All-Sports Survey
Shall consist of a summary of a school's overall winning percentage consisting of all sports that compile a won/lost record. Results shall be tabulated as an overall winning percentage as well as separate percentages for men's sports and women's sports.


SPONSORSHIP
Any organization wishing to join VaSID in promoting its All-State awards and assisting in the areas of expense and promotion will be considered with approval to be determined by the Executive Board.


EXPENDITURES
As much as possible, organizational expenses shall be outlined for the year ahead at the annual business meeting. Additionally, the Executive Board can approve individual expenditures up to $1,000 for items such as meeting planning (i.e. guest speakers), recognition gifts, donations, etc. All expenses not approved at the annual meeting and in an amount greater than $1,000 must be approved through a majority vote of the paid membership. Additionally, the Executive Board may not allocate more than $2,000 in total yearly expenses beyond the amounts approved at the business meeting without a majority vote of the paid membership.


AMENDMENTS
Amendments to the VaSID constitution may be made in one of three ways:
1. A two-thirds vote of the membership in attendance at the annual business meeting.
2. A majority vote of the entire membership through email or other voting means.
3. A unanimous vote of the VaSID Executive Board on items considered to be of immediate concern. The "Immediate concern" determination shall be made by the President.