Sept. 20, 2012

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The University of Maryland wrestling team received the "The Gold Standard" Award for its social media brand at the inaugural Best of Brand Awards at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Convention which was held at the Harbor Beach Marriott in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Aug. 2-5.

"The Gold Standard" Award is the highest honor to be given at the event. It is awarded to the program that most effectively built their brand utilizing technology throughout the year.

"We are so honored to be recognized with the award", said head coach Kerry McCoy. "Our main goal is to be `out there' and we take pride in knowing we are doing a good job promoting our program. We appreciate the efforts of the NWCA to help provide tools for programs to increase the visibility of their teams and raise the level of awareness for the sport of wrestling as a whole."

"The goal was to provide coaches with an incentive to market their programs throughout the year. By honoring them in this manner, we hope that coaches will continue to see the importance of strengthening their brand in the surrounding community," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer.

The Terps also received second runner-up for `The Masterful Mission" Award, which is given to schools that were demonstrating a consistent message supporting the university mission.