Aug. 26, 2025 – North Central College Director of Athletics Communication Nicholas Osterloo '19/M'21 has been honored as the D3SIDA Region 5 Communicator of the Year, as announced by the NCAA Division III Sports Information Directors Association (D3SIDA) board of directors in August.

First introduced in 2024 by the D3SIDA board, the Communicator of the Year award recognizes NCAA Division III sports communicators for their exceptional work in creative content and storytelling, and the ability to navigate difficult decisions.

Candidates were divided into six regions and one conference affiliation. Nominations for these regional and conference awards were solicited from all those working in college athletics, regardless of division. The NCAA Division III membership then voted on the regional awards and the conference award, with the D3 board selecting the national award winner(s) at a later date.

It marks the second consecutive year a member of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin has received this award, with Illinois Wesleyan University's staff earning the inaugural honor in 2024 that included Associate Director of Athletics Communication Taiah Gallisath '20/M'23, before she returned to North Central.

"Nicholas has earned the respect of the North Central coaches, student-athletes, and athletics administration — as well as his peers around the country — through his work ethic, presence, and dedication," said Vice President for Communication and External Affairs, Jim Godo '93. "He is the consummate professional who treats every function, great and small, with diligence and an infectiously positive attitude. It is a joy to see him be recognized regionally for his exceptional communication talents and abilities."

Osterloo, having just finished his fourth year as an assistant director, was recently elevated to Director of Athletics Communication at North Central in Spring 2025. His Region 5 Communicator of the Year selection follows a year that saw him communicate about North Central baseball's NCAA Tournament appearance, men's and women's tennis postseason activity, and the Cardinal football program's three-peat national championship. The Cardinals' 2024-2025 academic year also saw a women's triathlon national championship and a women's wrestling national runner-up finish. Osterloo and the Athletics Communication team informed a nationwide audience about 14 CCIW team championships, 244 All-CCIW selections, 48 All-Americans, and 102 Academic or Scholar All-American awards. North Central earned a top-25 finish in the Learfield Directors' Cup Division III standings to close out the 2024-2025 year.

"Nicholas has always demonstrated a true passion and gift for telling stories of our Athletics successes—be they academic or athletic," noted Senior Director of Athletics, Jim Miller '86. "One of his greatest strengths is his 'can-do' attitude when given any suggestion or task to consider. In a short order of time, Nicholas has proven to be an invaluable member of the Athletics administrative leadership team.  He is greatly respected and appreciated by all within our department. We congratulate him on this much-deserved honor as Region 5 Communicator of the Year."

Osterloo was named a College Sports Communicators (CSC) 30 Under 30 honoree in 2024, which recognizes emerging athletics communication professionals at all levels of college sports in strategic, creative, and digital spaces. In addition to regional and national recognition, Osterloo was presented with North Central's Distinguished Performance Award for an administrative staff member in 2024, for his critical work within athletics communication, the Inclusion Team, and North Central's Community and Belonging UBelong social media initiative that features first-person perspectives from student-athletes and coaches about their experiences in Cardinal Athletics.

In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Osterloo volunteers his time on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America committee, the Young Professionals Committee, and was a part of the CSC Mentorship Program. He also serves on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division III Hitter, Pitcher, and Rookie of the Week committee.

As a regional award winner, Osterloo will advance to the D3SIDA National Communicator of the Year ballot to be voted on by the D3SIDA board of directors.