The University of Texas at Tyler sports information staff was recognized by their fellow SIDs with the first Lone Star Conference Sports Information Staff of the Year award, the league announced on Wednesday. UTT earned the honor for their work during the 2021-22 academic year.
 
Ryan Shumaker, UTT’s sports information director, leads the Patriots’ athletic communications staff with assistance from Dalton Johnson.
 
Shumaker has headed up the Patriots’ communications efforts after joining the university in February of 2021 from fellow LSC institution Eastern New Mexico. In that time, UTT has hosted multiple championship events, including the LSC and NCAA Division II South Central softball championships this past May, in addition to covering the institution’s 18 varsity sports and broadcasting 140 events on the LSC Digital Network. Johnson joined prior to the start of the 2021-22 season after working with the Allen Americans, a professional hockey club in Allen.
 
The award is given annually to the top institutional sports information staff as voted by league SIDs and recognizes the on-campus professionals who work throughout the year in service to student-athletes and coaches. Each institution nominates one other staff from the LSC for the accolade.