DALLAS (NCBWA) – Liberty’s Ryan Bomberger, one of the most experienced and top baseball publicity directors at the college level in the nation, is the 49th recipient of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Russell D. Anderson/Wilbur Snypp Award for national contributions to college baseball.
The award, first given in 1975 to National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association founder Wilbur (Bill) Snypp of Ohio State, also memorializes the cherished Russell D. Anderson – treasurer and associate executive director for the NCBWA for three decades from 1996-2021 before passing away April 5, 2021. Anderson was awarded the top honor given by the NCBWA in 2002 for his sterling efforts in the college baseball realm.
Bomberger has been the baseball SID at Liberty since 2004 and has put in countless hours towards publicizing and advancing college baseball. He has volunteered his time with the NCBWA since 2005 before earning a spot on the board of directors in 2007.
“Ryan Bomberger has been an integral part of the NCBWA in so many areas for three decades,” said NCBWA executive director Bo Carter said. “This award helps epitomize his contributions, and NCBWA executive associate director Mike Montoro and the late Russ Anderson were responsible for bringing Ryan on board to the organization in 2004. Ryan’s work with college baseball and the NCBWA on the national stage has been truly outstanding.”
He also serves as the primary contact for Flames baseball and men’s soccer and is the editor of the Flames Illustrated football program. He contributes regularly to LibertyFlames.com and various athletic department publications in his role as senior associate athletic communications director at LU since 2016.
During his 20-year tenure at Liberty, he has served as the primary media contact for Liberty men’s and women’s tennis, women’s soccer, women’s basketball and wrestling.
His Flames Illustrated football programs received “Best in the Nation” distinction from College Sports Communicators in 2009 and 2014.
The Syracuse graduate joined the NCBWA officer rotation in 2009 and was NCBWA president in 2013. He continued to be a board member until he was promoted to the executive board in 2017 and now serves as the associate executive director of the NCBWA.
Two major areas in which Bomberger has proven to be a national leader in college baseball have been his coordination of the NCBWA Freshman All-America team voting and surrounding publicity since 2010 and as a major contributor in the production of the organization’s service directory.
In addition, Bomberger assists in the selection of the Dick Howser Trophy (most outstanding player) presented by The Game Headwear winner, the Stopper of the Year, Coach of the Year and several All-America teams presented by the NCBWA. He is one of 150 voters on the College Baseball Hall of Fame voting committee, having participated in the selection of the Hall's last eight induction classes.
The native of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, previously worked in the East Coast Hockey League’s offices as an intern and later was the ECHL’s executive administrative assistant. He also gained valuable experience in the sports information offices at Miami (Ohio) and Indiana. He was the communications contact for Miami’s first-ever Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season title team in 1993 and spearheaded all media efforts for the Redskins’ first-ever trip to the CCHA Championship game and NCAA Championship selection.
He was a graduate assistant for two years at Indiana and earned a master’s degree at IU.
“I'm very humbled and honored to be selected for such a prestigious honor as the Russell D. Anderson Wilbur Snypp Award,” Bomberger said. “Having worked with Russ Anderson with the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for many years and knowing the contributions of the legendary Wilbur Snypp, I am blessed to be recognized with an award named after them.
“Wanting to work in collegiate athletics growing up, I cannot believe that not only did my dream come true, but how much college athletics, and baseball specifically, have given me. It’s more than I could have ever imagined. I never thought I would have the opportunities I have enjoyed at Liberty University or to interact with so many amazing coaches, student-athletes, colleagues and media in the communications field. It has been a privilege to work with NCBWA in promoting such a great game as college baseball and I thank them for allowing me to serve such a great organization and for this honor.
“Watching the sport of college baseball grow, especially here at Liberty, over the years I have been fortunate to have an incredible journey. Flames head coaches Scott Jackson, Jim Toman and Matt Royer along with my longtime colleagues Todd Wetmore and Paul Carmany in the Liberty Strategic Communications Department, have made those years even more special. Thanks to everyone with the NCBWA who had a part in my selection for this prestigious award.”
Past Russell D. Anderson/Wilbur Snypp Award Winners
1975 Wilbur Snypp, Ohio State
1976 Bill Esposito, St. John's
1977 Phil Langan, Cornell
1978 John Geis, Southern Conference
1979 Hank Schomber, Georgia Southern
1980 Bob Culp, Western Michigan
1981 Lou Pavlovich, Sr., Collegiate Baseball
1982 Tom Price, South Carolina
1983 Bob Bradley, Clemson
1984 Robert Williams, Omaha World-Herald
1985 Jerry Miles, NCAA
1986 Larry Keefe, Seton Hall
1987 Tom Rowen, San Jose Mercury-News
1988 Fred Gerardi, KESY Radio, Omaha
1989 Jim Wright, NCAA
1990 Steve Weller, SIU-Edwardsville
1991 Bill Little, University of Texas
1992 Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman
1993 Bo Carter, Southwest Conference
1994 Lou Pavlovich, Jr., Collegiate Baseball
1995 Steve Pivovar, Omaha World-Herald
1996 Gary Johnson, NCAA
1997 Dave Wohlhueter, Cornell
1998 Allan Simpson, Baseball America
1999 Alan Cannon, Texas A&M
2000 Jim Callis, Baseball America
2001 Dick Case, USA Baseball
2002 Russell D. Anderson, Conference USA
2003 John Manuel, Baseball America
2004 Dana Heiss Grodin, USA TODAY Sports Weekly
2005 Dennis Poppe, NCAA
2006 Mike Montoro, Southern Miss
2007 Barry Allen, Alabama
2008 Mike Patrick, ESPN
2009 Al Chase, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
2010 Lou Spry, NCAA
2011 Jeremy Mills, ESPN/D1Baseball.com
2012 Eric Olson, Associated Press
2013 J.D. Hamilton, NCAA
2014 John Sullivan, Rice
2015 David Feaster, Dick Howser Trophy
2016 Ralph Zobell, BYU
2017 Aaron Fitt, D1Baseball.com/Baseball America
2018 Kyle Peterson, ESPN
2019 Jim Ellis, Mississippi State Radio
2020 Malcolm Gray, East Carolina
2021 Kevin Kugler, Westwood One/Fox Sports
2022 John Cox, Southern Miss
2023 Ryan Bomberger, Liberty