Liberty's Bomberger named recipient of Russell D. Anderson/Wilbur Snypp Award

Ryan Bomberger has been at Liberty University since 2004
Ryan Bomberger has been at Liberty University since 2004

DALLAS (NCBWA) – Liberty’s Ryan Bomberger, one of the most experienced and top baseball publicity directors at the college level in the nation, is the 49th recipient of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Russell D. Anderson/Wilbur Snypp Award for national contributions to college baseball.

The award, first given in 1975 to National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association founder Wilbur (Bill) Snypp of Ohio State, also memorializes the cherished Russell D. Anderson – treasurer and associate executive director for the NCBWA for three decades from 1996-2021 before passing away April 5, 2021. Anderson was awarded the top honor given by the NCBWA in 2002 for his sterling efforts in the college baseball realm.

Bomberger has been the baseball SID at Liberty since 2004 and has put in countless hours towards publicizing and advancing college baseball. He has volunteered his time with the NCBWA since 2005 before earning a spot on the board of directors in 2007.

“Ryan Bomberger has been an integral part of the NCBWA in so many areas for three decades,” said NCBWA executive director Bo Carter said. “This award helps epitomize his contributions, and NCBWA executive associate director Mike Montoro and the late Russ Anderson were responsible for bringing Ryan on board to the organization in 2004. Ryan’s work with college baseball and the NCBWA on the national stage has been truly outstanding.”

He also serves as the primary contact for Flames baseball and men’s soccer and is the editor of the Flames Illustrated football program. He contributes regularly to LibertyFlames.com and various athletic department publications in his role as senior associate athletic communications director at LU since 2016.

During his 20-year tenure at Liberty, he has served as the primary media contact for Liberty men’s and women’s tennis, women’s soccer, women’s basketball and wrestling.

His Flames Illustrated football programs received “Best in the Nation” distinction from College Sports Communicators in 2009 and 2014.

The Syracuse graduate joined the NCBWA officer rotation in 2009 and was NCBWA president in 2013. He continued to be a board member until he was promoted to the executive board in 2017 and now serves as the associate executive director of the NCBWA.

Two major areas in which Bomberger has proven to be a national leader in college baseball have been his coordination of the NCBWA Freshman All-America team voting and surrounding publicity since 2010 and as a major contributor in the production of the organization’s service directory.

In addition, Bomberger assists in the selection of the Dick Howser Trophy (most outstanding player) presented by The Game Headwear winner, the Stopper of the Year, Coach of the Year and several All-America teams presented by the NCBWA. He is one of 150 voters on the College Baseball Hall of Fame voting committee, having participated in the selection of the Hall's last eight induction classes.

The native of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, previously worked in the East Coast Hockey League’s offices as an intern and later was the ECHL’s executive administrative assistant. He also gained valuable experience in the sports information offices at Miami (Ohio) and Indiana. He was the communications contact for Miami’s first-ever Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season title team in 1993 and spearheaded all media efforts for the Redskins’ first-ever trip to the CCHA Championship game and NCAA Championship selection.

He was a graduate assistant for two years at Indiana and earned a master’s degree at IU.

“I'm very humbled and honored to be selected for such a prestigious honor as the Russell D. Anderson Wilbur Snypp Award,” Bomberger said. “Having worked with Russ Anderson with the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for many years and knowing the contributions of the legendary Wilbur Snypp, I am blessed to be recognized with an award named after them.

“Wanting to work in collegiate athletics growing up, I cannot believe that not only did my dream come true, but how much college athletics, and baseball specifically, have given me. It’s more than I could have ever imagined. I never thought I would have the opportunities I have enjoyed at Liberty University or to interact with so many amazing coaches, student-athletes, colleagues and media in the communications field. It has been a privilege to work with NCBWA in promoting such a great game as college baseball and I thank them for allowing me to serve such a great organization and for this honor.

“Watching the sport of college baseball grow, especially here at Liberty, over the years I have been fortunate to have an incredible journey. Flames head coaches Scott Jackson, Jim Toman and Matt Royer along with my longtime colleagues Todd Wetmore and Paul Carmany in the Liberty Strategic Communications Department, have made those years even more special. Thanks to everyone with the NCBWA who had a part in my selection for this prestigious award.”

Past Russell D. Anderson/Wilbur Snypp Award Winners 
1975    Wilbur Snypp, Ohio State 
1976    Bill Esposito, St. John's 
1977    Phil Langan, Cornell 
1978    John Geis, Southern Conference 
1979    Hank Schomber, Georgia Southern 
1980    Bob Culp, Western Michigan 
1981    Lou Pavlovich, Sr., Collegiate Baseball 
1982    Tom Price, South Carolina 
1983    Bob Bradley, Clemson 
1984    Robert Williams, Omaha World-Herald 
1985    Jerry Miles, NCAA 
1986    Larry Keefe, Seton Hall 
1987    Tom Rowen, San Jose Mercury-News 
1988    Fred Gerardi, KESY Radio, Omaha 
1989    Jim Wright, NCAA 
1990    Steve Weller, SIU-Edwardsville 
1991    Bill Little, University of Texas 
1992    Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman 
1993    Bo Carter, Southwest Conference 
1994    Lou Pavlovich, Jr., Collegiate Baseball 
1995    Steve Pivovar, Omaha World-Herald 
1996    Gary Johnson, NCAA 
1997    Dave Wohlhueter, Cornell 
1998    Allan Simpson, Baseball America 
1999    Alan Cannon, Texas A&M  
2000    Jim Callis, Baseball America 
2001    Dick Case, USA Baseball 
2002    Russell D. Anderson, Conference USA 
2003    John Manuel, Baseball America  
2004    Dana Heiss Grodin, USA TODAY Sports Weekly  
2005    Dennis Poppe, NCAA  
2006    Mike Montoro, Southern Miss  
2007    Barry Allen, Alabama  
2008    Mike Patrick, ESPN  
2009    Al Chase, Honolulu Star-Bulletin 
2010    Lou Spry, NCAA  
2011    Jeremy Mills, ESPN/D1Baseball.com 
2012    Eric Olson, Associated Press 
2013    J.D. Hamilton, NCAA 
2014    John Sullivan, Rice 
2015    David Feaster, Dick Howser Trophy 
2016    Ralph Zobell, BYU 
2017    Aaron Fitt, D1Baseball.com/Baseball America 
2018    Kyle Peterson, ESPN 
2019    Jim Ellis, Mississippi State Radio 
2020    Malcolm Gray, East Carolina 
2021    Kevin Kugler, Westwood One/Fox Sports 
2022    John Cox, Southern Miss 
2023    Ryan Bomberger, Liberty