Chris Wenzler '90 Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award by College Sports Communicators

1/15/2026 1:00:00 PM | By: Joe Ginley '16, SID

Wenzler dutifully served as sports information director for 30 years before his passing in 2020

LAS VEGAS – A legendary Man of Carroll is set to receive a prestigious award.

Six years after his passing, Chris Wenzler '90 has been selected for a prominent award by his former sports information colleagues.

Wenzler will be honored posthumously by the College Sports Communicators with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

For 30 years, Wenzler dutifully served as John Carroll's Sports Information Director. The 1990 JCU grad began in the sports information department with just three students and the office equipment included just one computer (an Apple Macintosh SE), a dot matrix printer, a typewriter, and a phone. Wenzler built a powerhouse sports information office over the course of 30 years, with a yearly workforce of 40 students, a robust broadcast schedule, and impressive coverage of a nationally prominent athletics program.

"On behalf of our entire family, thank you to the College Sports Communicators for this beautiful tribute to Chris," said Melissa Wenzler '90, '09G, Chris' longtime wife and JCU's Associate Director of National Recruitment and Alumni Engagement. "It means so much to us that the work he loved during his three decades at John Carroll is being celebrated with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Sports Information wasn't just his career; it was his passion. Our thanks go out to the CSC and to all those who supported his nomination."

After living all across the country in his youth, Chris Wenzler found a home in John Carroll during his college years. A football and tennis student-athlete, Wenzler started to find his calling via writing for The Carroll News. Not long after graduating, the sports information director position opened. The legendary Tony DeCarlo '66G decided to hire Wenzler, and the rest is history.

From humble beginnings, the sports information department gradually grew. Wenzler continually added to the student staff and expanded the reach of the department. Notably, Wenzler was on the cutting edge of live streaming. In 2006, Wenzler stood as one of the first SIDs at the NCAA Division III level to implement a 40-event video webcast schedule for the internet. Additionally, he formed a partnership with SportsTime Ohio that started in the fall of 2007. In 2013, Wenzler advanced JCU's video offerings further by partnering with Boxcast. For his efforts, Wenzler became JCU's first Assistant Athletic Director for Communications in 2008.

Wenzler's top legacy is most certainly a wide network of sports information alumni. Wenzler mentored countless students (it is estimated that he employed approximately 750 student workers over the course of his career), guiding them through career decisions into the workforce. Many of his students went to work in professional sports, and while most students did not, all who worked for him stand as better employees and better people today for the experience of working for him.

John Carroll student-athletes and coaches benefitted greatly from his presence, as Wenzler often opened his door for anyone who needed help. Wenzler consistently found time in his busy schedule to be a sounding board and be a trusted advisor for all who needed his guidance. Beyond his work, Wenzler generously gave of his time in service opportunities and immersion trips, including several trips to Jamaica, Guatemala and Ecuador.

In 2016, Wenzler was honored in 2016 with a 25-Year Award and in 2018, he was named the recipient of the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award by CoSIDA (now named the College Sports Communicators).

His impact at John Carroll did not go unnoticed, as Wenzler was surprised with induction into the John Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019. Over the course of his career, Wenzler poured countless hours into elevating the Hall of Fame into a must-attend event.

Wenzler courageously endured a lengthy battle with multiple myeloma, supported all the way by his Wenzler's Warriors. In June 2020, Wenzler passed away after giving cancer a heck of a fight. In 2021, Wenzler was posthumously inducted into the CSC Hall of Fame.

Wenzler has two awards named in his honor, one is given to a graduated student-athlete by the Blue Gold Club at the Hall of Fame ceremony, and the other is given to a star sports information student by the Ohio Athletic Conference.

Alongside the CSC's other award recipients, Wenzler will be honored during the June CSCUNITE26 convention in Las Vegas from June 7-10.

Print Friendly Version

Wenzler dutifully served as sports information director for 30 years before his passing in 2020

Related Videos

Related Stories

Sponsors