The SPRTER College Impact Awards

We believe that sporters have the power to change the world.

The Awards

The SPRTER College Impact Awards (formerly Athlete CRUSH College Impact Awards) recognize collegiate SPRTERS (student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and sports business professors and students – all those who contribute to the world of collegiate sports) from across the US and Canada who have displayed acts of selflessness worth sharing. Sharing these stories, accomplishments, and positive acts is key to prompting action from others. We want to start a movement where SPRTERs use their platform and their positions to do good.

The idea for the College Impact Awards started when we realized the lack of recognition for collegiate SPRTERs doing good. When it comes to philanthropy and charitable acts, everyone thinks of building schools and donating heaps of money. However, we think that there is so much more to it. The awards previously just focused on student-athletes, but we have recently broadened our focus to all those within the collegiate sports system (student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and sports business professors and students).

As SPRTER team member and ex-collegiate athlete Joonas recalls: “During my college days, I remember giving a t-shirt to a local neighbor and even signing my name on it. He smiled, told me he would sell it on eBay for a fortune when I become famous, and wore it regularly.”

Something as small as giving away a t-shirt, carrying someone’s groceries up the stairs, or volunteering an hour or two is making someone’s day and therefore the world a better place. There are many ways collegiate SPRTERs make a difference and we want to highlight them through the College Impact Awards.

You can nominate yourself or someone else for the College Impact Awards by submitting your story at the bottom of this page!

Award Categories

College Impact Award recipients will have made a significant impact on the university, the community, or any others contribution to the world around them, through outstanding dedication, competence, selflessness, or leadership, as demonstrated by one or more of the following:

RAK Award

The Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) is given to someone who has done something just out of their good nature. They did this good deed in order to be a good person and because they believed it was the right thing to do. Making someone’s day was, to them, the goal of this act.

Catalyst Award

This is an SPRTER who takes initiative to make a change. This is a person who gets involved with or starts initiatives to do good in their community or the world around them. They are always thinking about how they can help others around them.

Community Champion Award

Anyone who has had a positive impact on their community is eligible for this award. The winner will be the SPRTER who garners the most support from the community. To measure this, each nominee will create a SPRTER profile and the one who gets the most followers by deadline day will be the winner.

OUR 2018 WINNERS

David Long - West Virginia University

Josh Bringuel - San Diego State University

Kelly Dopke - University of Idaho

OUR 2019 WINNERS

Lexie Priessman - Louisiana State University

Delaney Booth - University of the Sciences

Olivia Gray - University of Pittsburgh

MEDIA COVERAGE

Prizes

Besides receiving a flashy plaque, each winner can nominate a cause or specific charity to which SPRTER will donate $136 in his/her name.

Why $136? Glad you asked. We have 1 goal = Make the world a better place, then there are 3 awards, and the 6 represents the letters in our name SPRTER, which are the letters that the terms Sporters and Supporters share – the two groups that make the world of sport so special.

Meet the Selection Committee

Mike Lahoud professional soccer player and NASL Humanitarian of the Year 2016.

Michael Lahoud

San Antonio FC

Michael is a professional soccer player for San Antonio FC and the Sierra Leone national team. He is an ambassador for Beyond Sport, and was awarded the FIFPro Merit Award in 2015 and the North American Soccer League's Humanitarian of the Year award in 2016 for his work building schools in Sierra Leone.

Sally Freedman

UEFA

Sally is an Online Promotion Manager at UEFA. She previously worked as a Spectator Services Manager at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, Head of Fan Engagement and Marketing for Melbourne City FC and Wellington Phoenix FC, Project Manager for Football Federation Australia, and the AFC Asian Cup Australia.

Thilo Kunkel

SPRTER - CEO

Thilo is the CEO and founder of SPRTER. He envisions creating a platform that will help bring fans and athletes closer together, and inspire positivity. He is also a specialist in athlete branding and holds a PhD in Business. He advises athletes on strategies to gain social media attention, improve their charitable eﬀorts, and gain sponsors.

Nicole "Nicky" Nieves

Paralympian/Philanthropist

Nicky is a Non-Profit owner and Director at Limitless People Inc. which provides unbiased volleyball opportunity to all. She is also is a current member of the USA Women’s National Sitting Volleyball Team, and a 2016 Rio Paralympics Gold medalist. She is not only a player but a passionate coach, dedicating her time to Highschool Boys and Girls volleyball, middle school volleyball, and club volleyball.

Josh Bringuel

Student-Athlete

As well as being the 2018 Catalyst Award winner, Josh is a football player at San Diego State University majoring in Psychology with a minor in Counseling & Social Change. Josh is the VP of the SDSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was recently named to represent SDSU on the 2018-19 All-Mountain West SAAC Community Service Team. After his playing career, Josh intends on pursuing a career in coaching and teaching.

Kelly Dopke

Student-Athlete/Future Physician

As well as being the 2018 Lead Award winner, Kelly is a student athlete at the University of Idaho where she competes in Division I soccer. Kelly was captain of her team and heavily involved in the Student Athlete Advisory Committee as well as many volunteer activities. Kelly will graduate this May summa cum laude with a degree in Medical Sciences and a certificate in Diversity and Stratification. She will then be pursuing medical school in 2020.

Who can nominate?

Any current/former teammate, friend, student, coach, team staff member, professor or school administrator can submit nominations. Parents and siblings are encouraged to submit too! Self-nominations will be accepted and all nominations will be confidential.

Who is eligible?

The awards are limited to those students, coaches, faculty, and administrators who have been active in the collegiate realm during the 2020/21 academic year. We accept applications from any division, sport, conference or college/university in the US or Canada.

Click here for the evaluation criteria

How to nominate?

Simply fill out the submission form below. The story can be max. 173 words and you can include up to 3 photos of the nominee (photos are strongly encouraged). Please include social media handles as well. If you have any supporting documentation, please send it to contact@sprter.com.

Timeline

Submission Deadline: June 13th

Finalists shortlisted: June 27th

Winners announced: July 11th

Submission Form

Click here to read the Terms & Conditions