HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College wrestling program has been selected as one of the sixteen finalists for the Elite Level Sports Marketing (ELSM) and the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) in the Best of Brand "Paramount Promotion" category for programs which created graphics to build their team's brand in a unique manner.
This award honors programs for their investment in marketing with a goal of continuing to inspire coaches to engage in branding initiatives. Finalists and matchups for the "Paramount Promotion" category were selected by a committee based on video quality, music/sound selection, graphics and overall impact in regards to the award category.
The finalists for the "Paramount Promotion" category are the following: Rutgers, West Virginia, Buena Vista, Nebraska, Maryland, Cornell, Johnson and Wales, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Coker, Drexel, George Mason, Case Western Reserve, Wisconsin, Princeton, and Rider.
This is the second-straight season Coker is up for a NWCA/ELSM award, as it was a "Pure Entertainment" finalist last season.
The tenth-seeded Cobras are the lone Division II school to be selected and will face the No. 7 seed Johnson and Wales in the opening round. The Navy and Gold earned the nomination in large part due to the Art Meets Art match, which took place on Nov. 11 in Coker's Watson Theater in the Elizabeth Boatwright Performing Arts Center, when they faced the St. Andrews University Knights. The evening consisted of five matches, a performance by the Coker Dance Department and then the final five matches of the evening. The Cobras won the match 33-9 in front of a sellout crowd.
The criteria for determining the "Paramount Promotion" award winner will feature two key elements: a panel of judges assessing annual performance (70%) and an online voting competition (30%). The online voting component will include 15% allocated to the actual vote totals and 15% to the creativity of campaign during the Battle Round voting.
Challenge Details and Voting
The "Paramount Promotion" category voting will feature a brand new "Battle Round" bracket challenge format. Teams will be paired based on their seeding and will battle head-to-head each day to advance in the competition. Each round of voting will be open for one day from 4:00 pm EST to 8:00 pm EST, and the program must win that day's vote to advance to the next round.
Day 1: Round 1 Tuesday, July 5th
Day 2: Quarterfinals Wednesday, July 6th
Day 3: Semifinals Thursday, July 7th
Day 4: Finals Friday, July 8th
Finalists and Matchups
#1 Rutgers vs. #16 Rider
#2 West Virginia vs. #15 Princeton
#3 Buena Vista vs. #14 Case Western Reserve
#4 Nebraska vs. #13 Wisconsin
#5 Maryland vs. #12 George Mason
#6 Cornell vs. #11 Drexel
#7 Johnson and Wales vs. #10 Coker
#8 Missouri vs. #9 Pittsburgh
Winner Announcement
The Top 3 in the competition will be announced this summer at the NWCA Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from July 29th to August 1st
How to Vote
Access to the match-up polls will be available on the NWCA site: http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwcawebsite/bestofbrandopen
Each person may vote once per hour from all devices.
About NWCA and ELSM
The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), established in 1928, is a non-profit organization for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on developing coaches who work in academic environments. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling. The three core competencies of the NWCA are: coaching development, student-athlete welfare, and promotion of wrestling.
Elite Level Sports Marketing (ELSM) is a firm, which specializes in the development and implementation of innovative marketing plans for sport organizations, businesses, and programs. Functioning around five core values: innovation, integrity, connection, adding value, and making a difference, ELSM provides coaches and fans with marketing resources to help grow sport organizations.
For more information on the "Paramount Promotion" category and/or the Best of Brand awards, visit the NWCA site:
http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwcawebsite/best-of-brand-battle-rounds
Additional information on other categories will be available soon.