Spartanburg, S.C. – The 2011 USC Upstate Volleyball Intro Video used at the start of each home match earned the "Best-Of" Bronze Award in Group II in the Video Board Production category at the 21^st Annual National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) Annual Convention last week.

Beginning in 2003, the NACMA "Best-Of" Awards program honors outstanding achievement in marketing and promotions. Awards are presented in 13 categories, with each category divided into three groups based upon school size and conference affiliations to promote fairness. An association record of more than 950 awards entries were received for the 2011-12 year.

Submitted for award consideration, the Upstate Volleyball Intro Video was placed in Group II, consisting of all mid-major Division I institutions. Upstate claimed the Bronze Award for the piece behind Gold Award winner Brigham Young (BYU) and Silver Award winner Portland State.

"The volleyball intro video was the first piece in a strong body of video work produced in athletics last year," said Mike Hall, Director of Athletics at Upstate. "Everyone involved in the process should be proud of the final product. Wade (Johnston), Mason (Glick) and a number of other coaches, staff members and student-athletes worked together to produce several high-quality video pieces that substantially raised the level of technology and appeal in our department. We set the bar high last year and look to continue to offer quality video work on our video boards and athletics website in the future."

Wade Johnston, who was Upstate's Athletics video coordinator, and Mason Glick, who was Upstate's Athletics marketing and promotions director, worked together with head volleyball coach Jennifer Calloway and the Upstate volleyball team to produce the intro video.

The intro video was unveiled to the team and the Hodge Center faithful for the first time on Sept. 16, 2011, when Upstate opened its home season schedule against cross-town rival Wofford. It marked the first time since Nov. 7, 2009, that the Spartans had played in the Hodge Center after having to play away from campus in 2010 as renovations to the facility were being completed. The $4 million renovation project, funded by the generous gift from Mrs. Dodie Anderson, provided the two video boards and the technology to run them. The intro video was well-received with cheers and tremendous fanfare. It was one of the top three most-watched videos on Upstate's athletics website and YouTube channel in 2011-12.