Linfield University sports information directors Kelly Bird and Avi Mehta have been named co-recipients of the Jack Sareault Award for the 2020-21 academic year.
 
The annual award, which honors the top sports communications professionals from the Northwest Conference, was announced by the NWC office on Thursday following a vote of the league's sports information directors.
 
Managing the many adjustments and limitations imposed by COVID-19, Bird and Mehta combined to provide on-going hands-on support for Linfield's sports programs during the most challenging year in Linfield Athletics history.
 
"It's so fitting that Avi and I are sharing this award," said Bird. "Providing coverage for all the many home events this spring while also breaking ground on some exciting new projects was exhausting yet very rewarding. We're proud of what we accomplished, but we could never have pulled it off without mutual give-and-take from each other in all areas. It was a true team effort. I'm very thankful to have such a great teammate in Avi."
 
"I am really honored to receive the Jack Sareault award by my peers in the Northwest Conference," said Mehta. "All SIDs in the conference did exceptional work in the extraordinarily busy spring, so to be singled out for our efforts this year is special. It really is a team-effort at Linfield, so credit goes to Kelly Bird as well. I am really proud of both of our efforts to continue keeping up our strong level of work despite the challenges that this year presented."
 
Linfield competed in 16 intercollegiate sports during the spring of 2021, compressing fall, winter and spring competition schedules into a 3½ month window.
 
The two SIDs oversaw game-day operations, statistics, public address announcing, video streaming, athletics website and printed event programs for 94 home events over a 92-day period.
 
During the same time frame, the sports communications office produced over 450 social media graphics and an estimated 1,500 social media posts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. The office also published 342 news stories and 47 in-depth feature stories highlighting Linfield student-athletes.
 
Bird and Mehta's most notable accomplishments during the 2020-21 school year include the addition of swimming, tennis and track & field to the live streaming menu, the integration and introduction of Linfield's new 60x30-foot video scoreboard at Maxwell Field, design and installation of stadium graphics at the soccer/lacrosse and softball facilities, and the launching of www.linfieldtopcat.com, a new sister website in support of Linfield Athletics fundraising efforts.
 
Bird and Mehta also provided in-person operational support for the Northwest Conference Baseball Championships, Women's Tennis Championships and Track & Field Multi-Event Championships.
 
Completing his 32nd year as SID at Linfield, Bird received Jack Sareault Award for the third time of his career. He previously earned the distinction in 2007-08, and again in 2014-15 together with former assistant Katherine Brackmann.
 
Mehta is finishing his second year as assistant SID at Linfield. Since joining the Linfield staff in the fall of 2019 as part of the NCAA Division III Women and Ethnic Minority Grant, the Towson University graduate has overhauled and amplified the athletic department's social media output, collaborated with coaches on formalized recruiting announcements, written dozens of student-athlete feature stories, and helped expand nearly all of Linfield's statistical archives.
 
The Jack Sareault Award was created in tribute to its namesake, Jack Sareault, who served as athletics publicist for the Northwest Conference during its various interations spanning the 1960s, '70s and '80s.