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MARKETING & PROMOTIONS PLAN Mustang Daily - California Polytechnic State University

In 2012, the Mustang Daily worked at creating a theme that integrated students, faculty and the greater San Luis Obispo community. The “Campus to Community” theme required us to expand our readership base, innovate ways to increase advertising revenue, and integrate involvement in community events. We also refreshed our logo and brand image to better reflect our goals and mentality of serving the campus and community as a whole. We used our 97 years of experience and connection to the Cal Poly community to demonstrate to advertisers the value of marketing their business in the Mustang Daily. • Reinforcing student readership with “Get Caught Reading the Mustang Daily” incentive • Promoting our special editions and giving students a morning boost with our News and Coffee Brews event. • Supporting the community at the weekly Farmer’s Markets and attending the Chamber of Commerce Mixer. • Helping students find a home base at the 4th annual Housing Fair • Sponsoring sporting events with T-shirt tosses • Launching our first ever Business Fair to introduce freshman students to local businesses • Giving back to the local community with our Canned Food Drive • Promoting the Mustang Daily during on campus orientation events like SOAR, Open House and WOW Showcase • Drove traffic to our webpage with our Green Edition, and Multimedia Election Coverage • Rebranded our logo and Social Media Pages • Creating new revenue opportunities with Menu Guide edition, Business Fair, Coupon Books, and a Smart Phone Mobile Application

With these and other promotions we looked to gain student involvement with the paper, and create habits with new students of picking up the Mustang Daily on a consistent basis. Over the Summer we distributed our SOAR edition at Freshman Orientation and connected with new students. During freshman move in day, we handed out free water bottles along with our WOW (Week of Welcome) edition of the paper, targeted towards incoming freshman. We connected students to local businesses at our first annual Business Fair event. We even launched a coupon book to save students money, and increase traffic for our advertisers. We also worked to keep up with technology trends by launching a smart phone mobile application which drove more students, faculty and staff to our website and to our advertiser’s businesses. We continued to look for new opportunities to increase traffic to our website like using Social Media avenues, publishing a “Green Edition” available online only, and providing comprehensive multimedia coverage of the Presidential Election.

www.mustangdaily.net | 805.756.1143 | advertising@mustangdaily.net


MARKETING & PROMOTIONS PLAN

Promotions Calendar Winter Quarter

January • Winter Back to School Publishes • Get Caught! Publishes • Winter Job Fair Edition Publishes • Basketball T-shirt Toss • 1st ever Menu Guide Publishes February • Valentine’s Day Edition Publishes • Get Caught! Publishes • Best For Cal Poly Edition Publishes • Farmer’s Market booth March • Hosted the 4th Annual Housing Fair • Housing Fair Edition Publishes • Get Caught! Publishes

Spring Quarter March • Spring Back to School Publishes • Re-brand of Facebook page April • Get Caught! Publishes • Open House Edition Publishes • Open House Weekend • Balloons on stands • Open House booth • Participated in the Poly Royal Parade • Farmer’s Market Booth • Earth Day “Green” Edition publishes • Spring Job Fair Edition Publishes May • Alcohol Awareness Edition Publishes • SLO Chamber of Commerce Business Showcase • Farmer’s Market Booth • Readership Survey Publishes June • Graduation Edition Publishes • 1st ever Mustang Mix-Ups publishes

Summer Quarter

July & August • SOAR Edition publishes • Begin Promoting for the Fall Business Fair • Rebrand of logo

Fall Quarter

September • WOW Edition publishes • Balloons on stands • Back to School Publishes • Begin promoting Business Fair event • Pass out water bottles during freshman move in • Get Caught publishes • Coupon Book publishes • WOW Showcase/ Block Party • Get Caught! Promotion publishes • Farmer’s Market Booth • UU Booth • Soccer and Football game T-shirt Toss • Launched our awareness campaign with a historical timeline • Launched our Smart Phone Mobile App October • Hosted the 1st Annual Business Fair • Soccer and Football game T-shirt Toss • Job Fair Edition Publishes • Get Caught! Publishes • Homecoming Edition publishes • Alcohol Awareness Edition publishes November • Election Edition publishes • Multimedia coverage across webpage, social media, Cal Poly T.V, and KCPR (Cal Poly’s radio station) • Soccer and Football game T-shirt Toss • Publish “Best For” voting ballots • Holiday Canned Food Drive starts December • Graduation Edition publishes • News and Coffee Brews promotion

www.mustangdaily.net | 805.756.1143 | advertising@mustangdaily.net


MARKETING & PROMOTIONS PLAN

On Campus Events & Promotions T-Shirt Tossing at Football, Soccer, and Basketball Games. Winter and Fall 2012

Back to School Block Party

September 2012

Open House Booth and Parade

April 2012

www.mustangdaily.net | 805.756.1143 | advertising@mustangdaily.net


MARKETING & PROMOTIONS PLAN

On Campus Events & Promotions Rebrand of Mustang Daily Logo and Facebook Page Summer 2012

Smart Phone Mobile App Posters Summer and Fall 2012

Freshman Move In “Hydrations Stations”

Fall 2012 We gave out free water bottles and WOW Edition papers to Freshman moving into the dorms

www.mustangdaily.net | 805.756.1143 | advertising@mustangdaily.net


MARKETING & PROMOTIONS PLAN

Community Involvement and Outreach Hope for the Holidays Canned Food Drive Fall 2012 We raised over 325 lbs of food for the SLO Food Bank!

History of the Mustang Daily Timeline Awareness Campaign September 2012

www.mustangdaily.net | 805.756.1143 | advertising@mustangdaily.net


MARKETING & PROMOTIONS PLAN

Community Involvement and Outreach Downtown San Luis Obispo Farmer’s Market Booth Spring and Fall 2012

San Luis Obispo “Disco Obispo” Chamber of Commerce Mixer Spring 2012

www.mustangdaily.net | 805.756.1143 | advertising@mustangdaily.net


MARKETING & PROMOTIONS PLAN

Increasing Readership and House Ads

News and Brews Event to Promote our Graduation Edition December 2012

www.mustangdaily.net | 805.756.1143 | advertising@mustangdaily.net


MARKETING & PROMOTIONS PLAN

Increasing Student Involvement MAKE US LAUGH. WIN FREE STUFF. Submit your captions every Tuesday on facebook.com/mustangdaily Get the most likes on your submission and win a Mustang Daily prize pack!

Facebook Caption Contest Fall 2012

We offered a prize to the student whose caption received the most likes

Incentive Materials

Fall and Winter 2012 Ping Pong balls, color changing cups, sunglasses and T-shirts

www.mustangdaily.net | 805.756.1143 | advertising@mustangdaily.net


MARKETING & PROMOTIONS PLAN

Increasing Traffic to our Website Being Earth Conscious with our Green Edition, available on our website. Spring 2012 We made our Green Edition available online only which drove traffic to our website and also raised awareness about enviornmentalt and sustainability issues.

Multimedia Election Coverage

Multimedia Election Coverage November 2012

We also took advantage of the Presidential Election and launched a huge campaign that involved Social Media, videos, photos, and commercials centered around multimedia coverage of the election. As election night progressed the newsroom was buzzing with reporters and editors constantly updating our website.

www.mustangdaily.net | 805.756.1143 | advertising@mustangdaily.net


Marketing/Promotion Plan Niner Times • UNC Charlotte Seeing the need for increased readership and awareness of both the newspaper and website, the staff at Niner Times planned and participated in several promotional events throughout summer and fall semester. Staff members tried to include house ads in every issue of the paper and host or participate in special events each month. They hope to continue the efforts throughout the spring semester. SOAR Starting in June, representatives of Student Media participated in Student Orientation and Registration (SOAR) sessions. At least two students and one professional staff member worked at the Student Media table to promote all areas of Student Media including Niner Times, Radio Free Charlotte and Nineronline.com. This was an opportunity to hand out issues of the Survival Guide to freshmen and transfer students and to inform them about the twice-weekly newspaper, and website. WORKSHOPS In August, Student Media Workshops were held to introduce/promote all areas of Student Media including Niner Times, Nineronline.com, Radio Free Charlotte, Sanskrit and Student Media Marketing. For two days before the start of the semester, students were introduced to each area of Student Media, trained and considered for employment. This again, was another opportunity to promote the newspaper and website. HOUSE ADS Another component of the marketing plan were house ads. House ads started running to promote Niner Times and Nineronline.com in August. Ads to recognize the Employee of the Month started in September and continue throughout the year. Other house ads were published to promote shows airing on nineronline. com, a fundraising event and info-graphics about readership.

Student Niner Media • UNC Charlotte 9201 University City Blvd. • Charlotte, NC 28223 • 704-687-7140


PIZZA AND A PAPER The Pizza and a Paper event was held at the Student Union to promote Niner Times and was an effort to increase readership during the start of the semester. More than 300 slices of pizza were given out in about an hour and a half. Promotion before the event consisted of house ads, handbills and yard signs. A “thank you” ad was run after the event as well. During the next couple of weeks following the event, there was a 20 percent increase in pick-up rates. HAWKING PAPERS Haley Twist, editor-in-chief, passed out newspapers on every publication date in the student union during the month of November. This was a way for her to meet the current readers and possibly garner new readers. RACK POSTERS Posters were placed in newspaper racks around campus to promote the different areas of Student Media, especially Niner Times and Nineronline.com. These stayed up during the entire fall semester. SUN CONFERENCE In late September, UNC Charlotte’s Student Niner Media hosted the annual Southern University Newspapers Conference. More than 50 students and advisers from universities across the southeast U.S. attended the conference to hear from speakers in the industry and compete in a live sales competition. UNC Charlotte students received the Southern University Newspaper of the Year award at the conference. STUDENT MEDIA RETREAT In early October, 16 students attended the Student Media Retreat in Spruce Pines, NC. They gathered to brainstorm ideas for welcoming football to the university in Fall 2013. They organized and planned strategies for increasing readership and online traffic. Students came back refreshed and energized for the semester.

Student Niner Media • UNC Charlotte 9201 University City Blvd. • Charlotte, NC 28223 • 704-687-7140



Best Newspaper Marketing/Promotion Plan For 2012, The Daily Athenaeum started its Marketing/Promotional campaign geared toward creating awareness and brand recognition while simultaneously giving back to university and local community. 1.) Giving back to the students: a. iPad Raffle w/Sunglass Giveaway ‐ In order to give back to the students, we began by having a free raffle for an iPad at the beginning of the semester. We had booths setup where you register for the iPad and get a pair of free Daily Athenaeum Sunglasses; the sunglasses were packaged with a card promoting our Facebook, MIX (Mountaineer Information Xpress; where students check e‐mail, manage course schedule, find campus services, and read personalized announcements), and Twitter accounts. Locations of booths to sign up were located in the freshman dorms as well as our student union. Daily Athenaeum staff had the opportunity to meet and converse with new students about the paper and encouraged them to take one with them and to pick one up daily. b. Free Coffee ‐ The Sales Staff handed out free coffee cards in front of our student union; these cards were packaged in a calling card design promoting our DA‐Deals advertising Twitter, and MIX. c. Scranton Handouts “DA’s Got Your Back” ‐ The staff again set up a booth in the student union on finals week. This time we passed out scantrons and #2 pencils to students passing by wishing them good luck on their finals. We also promoted this event via our social media outlets. 2.) Creating Brand Awareness: a. For this segment of our promotional campaign we began by creating a Twitter account specifically for the advertising sales department. This Twitter account, @DA‐Deals, serves to promote businesses already running in our paper and retweet frequent advertisers to add value. In addition to creating a new Twitter account for our sales department, we ran a series of house ads in conjunction. These house ads feature a picture of downtown Morgantown and said @DA‐Deals. b. Each year during Homecoming the University has a Homecoming Parade this year The Daily Athenaeum participated in the parade with our distribution vans and staff handing out candy to the kids throughout the parade route. c. On November 2nd The Daily Athenaeum celebrated its 125th Anniversary. We celebrated by having an Open House. During our Open House we had refreshments, displays of old Daily Athenaeum’s, and gave tours of our facility. We ran invitations in our paper, sent out invitations to alumni and our advertisers. 3.) Giving Back to the Community/Advertisers: a. The DA began this segment of our campaign by sponsoring our building’s street through our city’s adopt a street program. This involved cleaning the street four times in order to obtain a street sign signifying our sponsorship. b. Each semester we host our Business Leaders Breakfast, the sales staff invite their advertisers to come join the sales staff for breakfast. We put on a program highlighting what The Daily Athenaeum has to offer and what is new for the semester, we also have a chance to listen to what the advertisers like about The Daily Athenaeum and what they would like to see in the future to could better service them. c. Secondly, for the holiday season, the Daily Athenaeum staff sponsored two local children from the Salvation Army angel tree. We collected donations throughout the month of December in order to purchase gifts for these needy local children. 4.) Schedule of Promotional Events: iPad Give‐Away/Sunglasses Promotion August 27, Twitter account launch started September 21, Homecoming Parade September 28, Free Coffee Cards September 26, Business Leaders Breakfast October 2, 125th Anniversary Celebration November 2, and Scantorn “DA’s Got Your Back” December 10.



THE DAILY ATHENAEUM Follow us on Twitter for great deals, events and Give-A-Ways

@da_deals NOW available on MIX


16 | SPORTS

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2012

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

SWIMMING

WRESTLING

West Virginia travels to Cincinnati for dual meet

Mountaineers open 2012 season on road

BY AUSTIN SEIDEL

BY AMIT BATRA

SPORTS WRITER

SPORTS WRITER

The West Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams travel to Cincinnati today to take on the Bearcats in a dual-meet showdown that may help several WVU swimmers qualify for the NCAA championships in March, 2013. “I’m really hoping to see a lot of our swimmers use the meet against Cincinnati and the Pitt Invitational to their advantage,” said West Virginia head coach Vic Riggs. “They are continuing to get better on the men’s and women’s sides of things, and that’s what I expect from them.” In last weekend’s double dual meet against Villanova and James Madison, the Mountaineers proved too strong to tame as the men’s and women’s swimmers and divers totaled 19 first-place finishes and a strong number of top three finishes. Against Cincinnati, West Virginia will rely on senior leadership to help continue the success seen by the relay squads in recent events as they hope to add several more swimmers to the NCAA championships this spring. “It’s not just Rachel (Burnette) that has senior leadership,” Riggs said. “Mandie (Nugent) and our junior Danielle (Smith) – anyone who has seen competition at the college level – they all have the ability to step up and help these men and women adjust to the college level and just college life in general.” The Mountaineers are 3-1 on the season and have yet to lose in a diving event as WVU diving coach Michael Grapner enters the meet against Cincinnati with the same high expectations he’s held since his arrival at West Virginia. “They all know what is

In its first season as a member of the Big 12 Conference, the West Virginia wrestling team will look to make an immediate impact against No. 15 Maryland and Johns Hopkins in College Park, Md., Sunday at the Terrapin Duels. Kutztown was scheduled to participate against West Virginia, but due to the recent Hurricane Sandy, WVU will only face a rarely seen opponent in Johns Hopkins and the Terps. After a 9-4 mark (4-2 EWL) last season, the Mountaineers will try to find success this season in the Big 12 against powerhouses such as Oklahoma State. Returning wrestlers for West Virginia will be senior Shane Young (125), sophomores Brutus Scheffel (149), Dominic Prezzia (157) and juniors Nathan Pennesi (141), Lance Bryson (184) and Michael Morales. Three WVU wrestlers earned a preseason ranking in the InterMat preseason individual wrestling rankings earlier this week. Bryson, Pennesi and junior Colin Johnston (133) are all ranked in the top 20. Johnston, who missed the last two seasons due to a shoulder injury, comes in at No. 17 for the Mountaineers this season. Pennesi earned a No. 19 ranking following a second consecutive NCAA championship appearance last season. Bryson will be going into the season 10 pounds heavier from last year with a new weight of 184. He made his first trip to the NCAA Championships last season, and he looks to continue the success with a preseason No. 20 ranking. Head coach Craig Turnbull will be the leader of the

FILE PHOTO

The West Virginia swimming and diving teams will take on Cincinnati today. expected of them,” Grapner said. “We just had Christian (Parker) qualify for Zones and it was a major step for him this season, but we are not done yet.” Grapner’s divers have dominated thus far in the season and will try to continue that dominance Friday as junior Richard Pokorny hopes to extend his firstplace streak with another victory against the Bearcats. In addition to Parker’s success on the boards, freshman Lindsay Schmidt saw her own successes come to life against JMU and Villanova with a third-place finish in the 3-meter board behind sophomore Haily VandePoel. VandePoel also recorded a second-place finish in the 1-meter board, breaking Ashley Malik’s previous WVU record. The Mountaineer men have defeated the Bearcats in its past three meetings, and the women hold a 2-1 record in the same span. “Our men did a good job of stacking events against

Villanova,” Riggs said. “I believe they can build off that performance and do the same against Cincinnati. After Cincinnati and the Pitt Invitational we have a long period of time to work out and work on things in the pool to prepare for the remainder of the season.” Burnette will be expected to continue her stretch of victorious performances for the Mountaineers after recording her 70th individual first-place finish. Burnette has also done well to establish herself among the elite swimmers in the NCAA, as she looks to improve on her finish in last year’s NCAA championships. “Burnette is definitely elite at this level,” Riggs said. “She is easily a top 20 swimmer, maybe even a top 15. She comes in every day ready to go and is always looking to improve.” The event is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday. dasports@mail.wvu.edu

PATRICK GORRELL/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

West Virginia junior wrestler Lance Bryson, left, takes down an opponent. Mountaineers for the 35th season. He is the seventh winningest active coach in the NCAA. Turnbull led members of the program to all-American status, EWL championships and NCAA championship appearances in the past. However, this season a new test waits in the Big 12 Conference. There are some new faces on this year’s squad, while the returning bunch have had match experience and some have been EWL Champions or have made trips to the NCAA championships. “We have a lot of work to do,” Turnbull said. “We don’t see Johns Hopkins here much, so we don’t know much about them. Maryland has won the ACC Tournament the last two years. It’s very early; we have a lot of work to do. We have a nice blend (of guys).” With the Big 12, West Virginia will only see some the teams that have a wrestling program in the country. For Turnbull, it’s important to have that base of Big 12 matches and also against the yearly opponents. With the move, WVU gets the usual Penn State, Pittsburgh and Edinboro type

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of opponents, but the move also allows the Mountaineers to face some national powerhouses in the Big 12. “To me, we have the best of both worlds,” he said. “For us, we get to keep many of our regional rivalries when we’re recruiting our main high school talent in Pennsylvania and Ohio. It (Big 12) should really present a great recruiting opportunity for us.” In fact, the four schools that sponsor Big 12 wrestling have combined for 49 team national titles, 271 individual national titles and 1,038 allAmericans. Two of the most storied wrestling programs in Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are amongst the best in the nation this year. Probable starters for West Virginia include the following: Young (125), Johnston (133), Pennesi (141), Scheffel (149), Prezzia (157), Ross Renzi (165), Bubba Scheffel (174), Bryson (184), A.J. Vizcarrondo (197) and Phil Mandzik/Dink Purnell (HWT). West Virginia begins Sunday with Johns Hopkins at 11 a.m. before facing Maryland later in the day. dasports@mail.wvu.edu

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YEARS



10 | SPORTS

THURSDAY DECEMBER 6, 2012

THE DAILY ATHENAEUM

Belcher’s mom says she loves son, slain girlfriend KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The days since Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend then shot himself in the head have been very difficult for his mother, who said Wednesday that the slayings have not diminished her love for the couple. Belcher’s mother, Cheryl Shepherd, had been living with the Kansas City Chiefs linebacker and 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins to help care for their 3-month-old daughter, Zoey, and was at the couple’s home Saturday morning when Perkins was shot. “That’s my son, and I love him,” Shepherd said in a brief telephone conversation Wednesday. “She’s my daughter-in-law, just like my daughter.” Shepherd declined to say anything more about her son. Belcher shot Perkins at their Kansas City home then drove with a handgun to Arrowhead Stadium, where he thanked Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel for all they had done for him. The men tried to persuade Belcher to put the gun down, but when police arrived, Belcher moved behind a vehicle in the practice facility’s parking lot, knelt down and shot himself in the head, police said. Shepherd, 54, said she was not happy about the release Wednesday of recordings of the emergency phone call she made Saturday after Perkins was shot. “I just got a phone call that they did that, and I

don’t appreciate it,” she said. “Right now I don’t want to talk about it.” In the emergency call, Shepherd begs Perkins to “stay with me” while frantically asking for an ambulance. She tells the dispatcher that Perkins is “still breathing but please hurry. ... They were arguing, please hurry.” Shepherd also told dispatchers that Perkins was bleeding, “just barely” awake and that it looked as though she was wounded in the back. She said Perkins moved when she spoke to her. When a police dispatcher asked about Belcher, Shepherd says only: “He left.” Police arrived at the home about 7:50 a.m. They said in an incident report that they found Perkins’ body on the floor of the master bathroom. She had been shot multiple times. Shepherd, who has temporary custody of the couple’s baby, said she and Perkins were very close. “She was a lovely, beautiful young woman. And we had a beautiful relationship,” Shepherd said. The estate or guardian of Belcher’s 3-month-old daughter will receive more than $1 million under terms of the NFL’s collective-bargaining agreement. The child stands to receive $108,000 annually over the next four years, $48,000 in the fifth year and then $52,000 each year until age 18. She’ll continue to receive that amount until age 23 if she attends college.

AP

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Romeno Crennel pauses while talking about the murder-suicide committed by linebacker Jovan Belcher during an NFL football news conference Monday at the team’s practice facility in Kansas City. The beneficiary of Belcher, who was in his fourth season, also will receive $600,000 in life insurance, plus $200,000 for each credited season. There is also $100,000 in a retirement account that will go to his beneficiary or estate.

Players’ beneficiaries are kept confidential. Shepherd said family members have been helping her a great deal since the shootings, but that she had trouble eating and sleeping while working on her son’s funeral arrangements.

Mourners, including several Chiefs players, attended an hourlong private memorial service for Belcher on Wednesday in Kansas City. Retired Chiefs Hall of Famer Bobby Bell said afterward that Pioli and Belcher’s uncle spoke during the ser-

vice. He said it was “rough” on Pioli. “This is a sad situation,” Bell said. “You never want to be put under those situations. Never. It’s not good. You don’t want to see things like that. I don’t know how they got through it.”

Kansas State’s Collin Klein voted Associate Press Big 12 player of year (AP) — There were times when Collin Klein’s mother couldn’t help but worry, when she would watch her son take a snap from center, dodge a couple of defenders and then take off at a gallop. The play would usually end up with Kansas State’s quarterback taking a big hit, the kind that caused Kelly Klein to gasp. The kid would invariably drag himself off the turf, blood usually seeping from his elbows. He would adjust his facemask, hike back his shoulder pads and trundle back to the huddle and do it all again. “I get emotional because I do worry,” Kelly Klein admitted this week. “But he does what he loves to do, so you have to be grateful that he has the physical ability to do it.” Klein’s prodigious physical ability, along with his even demeanor, unwavering faith and singular focus on getting better bit by bit

AP

Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein throws during the first half of its football game against Texas Dec. 1 in Manhattan, Kan. all contributed to one of the fensive player of the year. finest careers in Kansas State “I’m just honored with history. On Wednesday, he this opportunity that the was voted the AP Big 12 of- Lord has provided me here

at K-State,” said Klein, who made the All-Big 12 first team as a quarterback and was honorable mention as

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an all-purpose player. “I’m just happy to represent Kansas State, our team and what we’ve been able to accomplish this season.” The Heisman Trophy finalist set a slew of records while helping the seventhranked Wildcats to an 11win season, the third conference title in school history and a berth opposite Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. Klein is the first player from Kansas State to be voted the Big 12’s top offensive player. He received 14 of the 18 votes from members of the media who regularly cover the Big 12, while West Virginia’s Tavon Austin got three votes and Terrance Williams of Baylor received the other one. “It’s an amazing thing and it’s a huge honor, but the reward, you know, is just seeing him do his thing, and do what he loves to do,” said Klein’s father, Doug Klein. “Truly, whether it’s recognized or not, that’s the reward.” Klein’s coach, Bill Snyder, was voted Big 12 coach of the year for the third time on Tuesday. “He deserves all the compliments he can have,” Snyder said. “He’s awfully good at what he does, and he’s awfully good as a leader and he’s awfully good as a field manager, and he’s awfully good in all the physical aspects of the game – and he’s a tremendous person.” Defensive end Devonte Fields of Big 12 newcomer TCU was voted AP’s defensive player of the year. He received seven votes to beat out Kansas State’s Arthur Brown (four), Horned Frogs teammate Jason Verrett (three), Iowa State’s A.J. Klein (two), and Aaron Colvin and Tony Jefferson of Oklahoma (one each). Fields was also the runaway winner of defensive newcomer of the year, while

Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk was voted the conference’s top newcomer on offense. Klein has already won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and is up for several other national awards this week. He’s one of three finalists for the Heisman, along with Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, which will be handed out Saturday night in New York. The senior from Loveland, Colo., was recruited to Kansas State under former coach Ron Prince, played for a while at wide receiver, and then transitioned back to quarterback. But he never approached the position in the way most do: He was just as comfortable bulldozing for yards as he was airing it out. Klein threw for 2,490 yards and 15 touchdowns this season while running for 890 yards and 22 more touchdowns. He’s the first player in the BCS era to have consecutive seasons with at least 10 touchdown passes and 20 touchdown runs, and the other three to even accomplish the feat once all won the Heisman: Auburn’s Cam Newton in 2010, Florida’s Tim Tebow in 2007 and Eric Crouch of Nebraska in 2000. “Some crazy things have happened to lead our team and myself to this point,” Klein said. “There are a lot of reasons for that. There’s a lot of hard work, a lot of preparation that have been put in on so many people’s part, and so many people have invested in me when I was going through a hard time or struggling.” Kansas State led the league with six first-team All-Big 12 selections: Klein, Brown, offensive lineman B.J. Finney, tight end Travis Tannahill, defensive lineman Meshak Williams and defensive back Ty Zimmerman. The Wildcats also had five second-team selections and eight honorable mentions. Oklahoma State had the second-most first-team selections with five: running back Joseph Randle, wide receiver Josh Stewart, offensive lineman Lane Taylor and Quinn Sharp, who made it as both a punter and kicker. Fields was joined on the first team by Verrett and TCU teammate Kenny Cain. Oklahoma’s Jefferson and Colvin were joined by Gabe Ikard on the first team. Baylor’s Williams and Cyril Richardson, Texas Tech’s LaAdrian Waddle and Kerry Hyder, West Virginia’s Austin and Stedman Bailey, Iowa State linebackers Klein and Jake Knott and Texas’ Alex Okafor also made the first team.


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