Wrestling team recognized for excellence in social media

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson wrestling program has been recognized as one of 12 finalists for the 2013-14 Best of Brand Masterful Mission Award, as announced by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), in coordination with Elite Level Sport Marketing (ELSM).

The Masterful Mission award recognizes the program that best branded itself during the season via social network sites. The selection committee looked for programs with brand mantras that included well-rounded values that embrace their universities' missions.

Finalists came from all levels of collegiate wrestling. Simpson joined Bucknell, Duke, Grand View, Iowa State, North Carolina State, Ouachita Baptist, Princeton, South Dakota State, Ohio State, North Carolina and Wabash on the lists of finalists.

Throughout the season, Simpson grew its social media presence through Twitter (@sstormwrestling) and Facebook (/SimpsonCollegeWrestling) in addition to hosting Storm Chaser Sunday, a weekly show on YouTube that broke down the previous week's action.

"The Best of Brand field was extremely competitive this year with over 100 college programs involved in social media marketing," said ELSM CEO Coyte Cooper. "The fact that we have so many entries indicates that we are continuing to grow our sport through a proactive branding approach at the grassroots level."

From this group of finalists, three will be named as top programs at the NWCA Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from August 1-3, 2014. The winner will be honored at a Best of Brand breakfast that focuses on highlighting the unique branding efforts implemented by programs.

The Masterful Mission category falls under the Annual Achievement umbrella of the Best of Brand Awards, which is designed to recognize the programs that used social media in the best possible manner to market themselves throughout the season. The subset contains three awards, Top Newcomer, The Gold Standard and Masterful Mission.

The Best of Brand Awards were founded by the NWCA and ELSM during the 2011-12 season and have grown to over 120 college programs being involved in some capacity.