SVG College Sports Media Awards: Entry Deadline Extended to April 9

It's not too late to submit your entries for the 15th annual CSMAs!

Out of respect for a very busy time in the college sports calendar – and due to popular request – the Sports Video Group is extending the entry deadline to submit entries to the 2024 SVG College Sports Media Awards in association with NACDA.

The new deadline to enter this year’s competition is Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Enter your productions into the 16th annual edition of the biggest sports video awards competition in collegiate athletics and be a part of the nationwide celebration!

ENTER NOW!

Important notes for this year’s competition:

• New Categories: New to this year’s competition is a new breakdown for the Special Features category. Now, institutions will be able to submit entries in “Outstanding Special Feature – Scripted” and “Outstanding Special Feature – Unscripted”
• Category Removed: The “Outstanding Program Series” category has been eliminated. Content that traditionally falls in that category should be shifted to the appropriate “Outstanding Special Feature” category.
• Move Divisional Splits on Institution Size: Additional awards this year in Collegiate Athletics and Collegiate Student will be split into Power and Championship divisions. (see division/category breakdown and Power vs. Championship distinctions below)
• Entry Fees: SVG will be reinstating entry fees this year. Every institution receives one free entry in each category. Any additional entries beyond the first will be accompanied by a fee (costs outlined below).
• Students Remain Free: The Collegiate Student division remains free to enter! Institutions will be limited to three entries per category in the Collegiate Student division.

Winners of the competition will be celebrated at the annual SVG College Sports Media Awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 as part of this year’s SVG College Summit at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Atlanta.

FOR THE FULL SET OF OFFICIAL RULES: 2024 SVG College Sports Media Awards Official Rules

Changes to Special Feature Category

This year’s competition introduces a new designation in the Outstanding Special Feature award. Now entrants should submit the entries based on the designation of “Scripted” and “Unscripted.

In short, “Outstanding Special Feature – Scripted” is any piece of video storytelling where the story of the subject is known prior to the piece’s production. For example, any form of human interest stories. “Outstanding Special Feature – Unscripted” is any piece of storytelling that also features a recap of a live game or series of games recapped in a cinematic fashion through highlights.

As a result of this category split, we have eliminated the Outstanding Program Series division. Any content that would typically submitted in this Category can find a home in one of these two Outstanding Special feature categories.

For a more detailed description of the differences between “Outstanding Special Feature – Scripted” and “Outstanding Special Feature – Unscripted” please consult the Official Rules.

More Awards Split Into Power v. Championship Divisions

Last year, we introduced a splitting of select divisions in the Collegiate Athletics and Collegiate Student divisions: Power and Championship. This year, we will add this split to more award categories.

This is in response to the increased number of quality entries coming from institutions with widely varying budgeting and staffing sizes. To more equitably judge these projects, we are continuing to expand the splitting of select divisions in more categories, thus offering more awards.

These divisional splits will apply to the “Outstanding Live Game,” “Outstanding Special Feature – Scripted,” “Outstanding Special Feature – Unscripted,” “Outstanding In-Venue Video,” and “Outstanding Social Media Video.” See table above for full breakdown of award Categories and Divisions.

As a reminder, the designation between these two divisions are as follows:

• Power
  This division split is defined as any institution that is a member of a “Power 5” conference, as traditionally defined*. This includes any athletic department in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference (B1G),  Pacific-12 Conference (Pac-12), and Big 12 Conference (Big XII).
  
  NOTE: In the 2024 CSMA, the University of Notre Dame will be recognized as an ACC institution and Brigham Young University will be recognized as a Big 12 institution.
  
  *these designations will be changed in 2025 after a new wave of conference realignment officially occurs this summer
  
• Championship
  This divisional split is defined as all other collegiate institutions outside of those defined in the “Power” division. That includes any NCAA, NAIA, USCAA, NCCAA, ACCA, NJCAA, CCCAA, or NWAC-sanctioned athletic programs.

NOTE: Any school that qualifies as a “Championship” entry by these parameters that wishes to compete in the “Power” division is welcome to do so. However, any school that qualifies as a “Power” entry must enter the “Power” division.

Entry Fees Return

For the past three editions of the SVG College Sports Media Awards, SVG has refrained from charging entry fees for any participants. Due to rising costs, continuing to host and operate these awards necessitates that we must reintroduce a layer of entry fees to the process.

In the 2024 competition, every institution’s first entry into any category remains free. Any additional entries in a given category will be charged the following:

• Professional – $100/entry
• Collegiate Conferences and Governing Bodies – First Entry Free; all additional entries $50/entry
• Collegiate Athletics – First Entry Free; all additional entries $50/entry
• Collegiate Student – All entries free/limit three per institution in each category

In the Collegiate Student division, for example, Texas A&M University may enter up to, but no more than, three entries in the Outstanding Live Game category in the Collegiate Student division. They are also permitted, though, to enter up to as many as three in any other Collegiate Student award in which they meet the qualifications for.

Here is an outline of the awards that will be given in the 2024 SVG College Sports Media Awards in association with NACDA:

If you have any questions regarding these new categories and divisional splits or where your entry should be submitted for the 2024 SVG College Sports Media Awards, please email CSMA Chair Tom Buffolano at [email protected] or SVG College Summit Program Director Brandon Costa at [email protected].

MORE: 2023 SVG College Sports Media Awards Winners
MORE: 2023 SVG College Sports Media Awards Finalists