NYIT's Callaghan Tabbed for MBWA's Inaugural Jim O'Connell Scholarship

4/19/2019 2:15:40 PM

NYIT student Robert Callaghan to receive MBWA Scholarship in memory of legendary scribe

FFI: Chuck Stogel, MBWA - 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com

NEW YORK  (April 19, 2019) -– Robert Callaghan, a senior-to-be at NYIT majoring in Communication & Media Production, is the recipient of the inaugural Jim O’Connell Sports Journalism Scholarship Award from the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Assn. He will receive the award at the 86th NIT/MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards Dinner on Tuesday, April 30, at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, NY.

Back in December, the Met Writers announced they would be launching the Oc Award, an annual college grant to a Met area student majoring in sports journalism, communications, information or sports management.

The Oc Award, which includes a grant of $3,000, is named in memory of Jim O’Connell, the longtime Associated Press national college basketball editor who passed away in July 2018 at the age of 64. Oc, as he was known, was a member of the MBWA Executive Committee as well as the Naismith Hall of Fame. For many years he served as co-chair and a presenter at the association’s annual NIT/MBWA Haggerty Awards Dinner.

In just three years at NYIT, Callaghan --- who hails from East Meadow, NY, and carries a cumulative GPA of 3.83 --- has established a lengthy communications resume. He is the managing editor and sports editor of the college newspaper, The Campus Slate; an active contributor to Globesville, the school’s TV programming entity; and a producer of live sports for NYIT, the East Coast Conference and LIU Post. In January he began an internship at CBS Sports in New York.

“Robert Callaghan is a responsible and serious student. He is very dependable, a team player with real ability,” said Prof. Don Fizzinoglia, chair of NYIT’s Communication Arts Dept. “He is passionate about sports journalism, to say the least.”

Adam Rubin, NYIT’s assistant athletic director for strategic communications, added: “Robbie is so dependable and skillful (as a producer), I have been able to devote my in-game attention to other areas --- quite a testament to the quality of his work.”

Callaghan’s post-grad goals include pursuing a career in sports writing or broadcasting.

“I have not stopped learning and growing,” he said. “My experiences at NYIT have prepared me to work in the field of sports production and writing more than I ever could have imagined.”