GREENWOOD, Ind. – Washington & Jefferson College student sports information assistant and lead broadcaster Jack Sacco has been selected as the 2025-26 College Sports Communicators Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest Student Submission College Division award winner, announced by the organization on Monday (June 1).
Sacco becomes the first W&J student to be named a national award winner for the Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest. Sacco's story titled 'Kellan Stahl: Seizing the Moment' was selected as the top student-written story in the College Division which consists of NCAA Divisions II and III, the NAIA, two-year institutions, Canadian institutions, and any other unaffiliated organizations. The senior has won the District 2 Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest award for two consecutive years prior to his national recognition.
Nearly 500 entries were submitted in seven categories in the 2025-26 contest. Each category was first judged on the district level, with the winners then advancing to national consideration. All national category winners were considered for National Story of the Year. The Stabley Writing Contest recognizes the top writing and storytelling content in seven different categories (plus a category for undergraduate student writing entries) from current 2025-26 CSC members.
"We are so proud of Jack and he is deserving of this national recognition," stated Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Athletics
Scott McGuinness. "His knowledge of all sports and his dedicated work ethic are impressive. As he turns into a young professional, Jack will be a talented asset for any organization."
Sacco was named the CSC District 2 Student Submission honoree and the National College Division award winner for his feature story on the career of W&J quarterback Kellan Stahl. The feature story titled 'Kellan Stahl: Seizing the Moment', takes a deep dive into the path Stahl took to earning the starting quarterback position for the Presidents. Sacco highlighted the ups and downs of waiting for the opportunity to command a prestigious NCAA Division III football program under Head Coach Mike Sirianni.
"It's an honor to receive the Fred Stabley Award National Award," replied Sacco. "After just winning the district 2 award last year, my goal was to take the next step and earn the national award. I took a lot of care when writing that article and I am glad that the selection committee determined it was worthy of such an honor."
Sacco maintained the production of football game notes for the 2025 season, detailing the ebbs and flows of another storied season for W&J. He and fellow student-worker Anthony Pass also were responsible for the implementation of game-by-game notes for the W&J men's and women's basketball teams during their 2025-26 campaigns. Sacco primarily focused on the men's team as they worked towards their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1994.
Sacco was an integral piece in the day-to-day coverage of W&J's 26 athletics programs in the sports information office through his four years. He primarily served as the lead broadcaster on the W&J Sports Network. Sacco also aided in the maintenance and upkeep of W&J Athletics' schedules and record books.
The 2026 graduate also was a catalyst in the implementation of the first multi-camera setup for W&J's home broadcasts. The improved camera setup debuted during the 2025 baseball season under the direction of Sacco and the sports information office. The setup featured a home plate and center field camera to grant viewers a dual view of W&J's baseball program. The modernized setup was also picked up by the PAC Sports Network in their production for the PAC Tournament hosted at W&J's Ross Memorial Park.
"This is very well-deserved recognition for Jack," said Assistant Director of Athletics for Operations
Aaron Thompson. "He proved to be a pivotal piece of W&J Athletics these past four years. Jack has made an impact in many areas of our department through his hard work, talent and dedication. We are lucky to have had someone of his skill set contributing to our operation on a day-to-day basis. We couldn't be more thrilled that the CSC selected Jack for this honor."
Outside of his work for the sports information office, Sacco generated advanced analytics for the W&J baseball and football programs. The first of its kind for each program grants a deeper look into the analytical side of their team's performance and tendencies that are not typically accessible.
