Christopher Intoppa, a 2013 graduate of Berean Christian School, has been named as the 12th recipient of the Willie Belcher Sports Information Director of Year Award by the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC), which is a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
Intoppa, who played football and soccer at Berean and later graduated from Southeastern University with a bachelor’s degree in sport management and a master’s degree in business administration, is the sports information director for the Montreat College Cavaliers in Montreat, North Carolina.
When he was notified about this award, Intoppa was honored and surprised by the news.
“I am extremely blessed and grateful for everyone who played a part in this — from God to my wonderful wife, family members, mentors and co-workers, especially fellow sports information director Christian Zylstra,” Intoppa said. “I am thankful to God for giving me the talents to do this job.”
At Montreat, he and Zylstra oversee 22 varsity sports. “I’m in charge of 11 sports, and Christian oversees 11 sports, but we both are involved in reporting and covering all 22 sports throughout the year,” Intoppa explained. “We’re also busy with social media posts and making updates to our athletic department’s web site.”
Intoppa has been with Montreat since January 2020. He’s looking forward to another athletic year beginning in August.
“I enjoy writing about sports and reporting on the statistics,” Intoppa said. “I also want to thank my wife Leah for supporting me, as this job does involve working on weekends with late nights and early mornings.”
This is the first time that Intoppa has received this award. It’s also the first time that a person from Montreat College has garnered the honor.
During the recent academic year, Intoppa provided Montreat exceptional coverage of the school’s two AAC championship winning teams. He and his staff also provided exceptional sports information coverage as host of the 2023 AAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship Meet.
On a daily basis as the sports information director at Montreat, Intoppa manages and oversees the communications for all 22 athletic teams. He is the primary contact for 11 sports. Intoppa handles duties concerning statistics, broadcasting, video, social media, the athletic web site, game programs, media guides, graphics and award nominations. He has increased reach on social media, developed templates for both graphics and game programs, and driven the growth of sports information at Montreat through many avenues, including video production and strategic decision-making. As a member of the College Sports Communicators, Intoppa contributes to NAIA-SIDA through assistance with both the programming committee and the publications committee.
Prior to joining the athletic department staff at Montreat, Intoppa was a sports information assistant in the sports information department at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach in fall of 2019.
