Sam Parker’s football blog for the Chadron State College athletic website, “On the Line,” has been named the National Blog of the Year in the 2015 College Sports Information Directors of America Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest.

“On the Line,” written by Parker and edited by Director of College Relations and CoSIDA member Alex Helmbrecht, detailed Parker’s unique perspective during the 2014 football season in 12 weekly installments. The blog, published on chadroneagles.com, was viewed more than 163,000 times.

In all, the 2015 CoSIDA Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest drew 363 entries.

This is the third consecutive year the Chadron State Sports Information Office has garnered attention for a football blog. In 2013 and 2014, Allan Schmaltz and Conor Casey both earned district awards for their blogs. Since 2007, the CSC Sports Information Office has claimed 10 national writing accolades, including seven first place awards.

Parker, a native of Harrison, graduated with a 3.85 GPA in communication arts in December. He currently works at Chadron State College as an admissions ambassador.

Parker had a distinguished career on the gridiron. He was a two-time CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-American, a three-year starter for the football team and a two-time selection to the RMAC All-Conference team. He was also named RMAC All-Academic three times.

Parker was also active in other areas of campus life. He served a term as the president of Blue Key, helped organize the Big Event, worked as a student ambassador, volunteered at local churches and read to elementary students. In May, he was awarded the Clyde Bond Award, which is presented to a CSC student-athlete who has displayed outstanding moral character, sportsmanship, athletic ability and academic achievement.

Helmbrecht, a McCook native and a 2005 graduate of Chadron State College, has worked at the college since 2007.