The SUNYAC will honor Cortland's Dan Surdam with its Retiree Award at the conference's annual awards dinner in June. This award is presented to personnel of full member institutions or the conference office with a minimum of 15 years of service within the conference.
Surdam has retired after 24 years of service to the university as the Associate Sports Information Director. His official retirement occurred at the end of January 2024, although he remained Cortland's men's and women's lacrosse sports information contact through the 2024 spring semester.
Surdam earned the 2021 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) (now College Sports Communicators) College Division Achievement Award. The honor is presented annually to one College Division (NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA, two-year colleges, Canadian/U Sports) and one University Division (NCAA Division I) winner. Recipients are associate or assistant directors in the sports information field with at least 10 years of experience who have made outstanding contributions to the profession and have provided exceptional service to their institution, conference office or intercollegiate athletics affiliated association. Surdam also received the Fraser Stokes Award in 2017 for service and dedication to SUNY Cortland Athletics.
Surdam served as the Cortland sports information office's primary media contact for men's and women's soccer, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, field hockey and wrestling. He oversaw the production of the sports information department's athletics publications and produced most of the online historical and student-athlete biographical content for the Cortland Athletics website. He handled public address duties for numerous Red Dragon sports and produced game programs for most of Cortland's home athletic events. Surdam emceed the Cortland Athletics Awards banquet from 2012-24 and was the emcee at the 2008 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Women's Gymnastics pre-championship banquet.
A native of Skaneateles, Surdam graduated from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a bachelor's degree in writing for television, radio and film. He came to Cortland with extensive experience in media and public relations, and he earned an Outstanding Radio Commercial Award from the New York State Broadcasters Association in 1997. In addition, Surdam is the author of the mystery/thriller novel "The Presence of Grace" and has penned a number of screenplays.
