LOWELL, Mass. -- The UMass Lowell athletic department received a gold medal for its t-shirt toss promotion during the second half of the year at men's ice hockey home games partnering with Mercedes-Benz of Burlington, which was announced at the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) 'Best Of' Awards Program at 25th annual NACMA Convention on Wednesday afternoon at the World Center Marriott in Orlando, Fla.

The award marks the 12th straight year that the River Hawks medaled at the NACMA "Best Of" awards. Since 2002-03, the UMass Lowell athletic department has received 27 gold, silver and bronze medals. The Department has compiled 16 medals in the past six years, including five in three of the last six seasons.

The River Hawks received their gold medal in the category of Sponsorship Activation (Group II).

"It is always great to work with our corporate partners to come up with creative ideas to enhance the fan experience," said Associate Athletic Director for Corporate Partnerships Eric Allen. "Our sponsors and marketing department are always thinking outside the box to create the best game day atmosphere as possible.  It was great to welcome Mercedes-Benz of Burlington to our corporate partner family this season and because of them we were once able to prove to our fans that River Hawk nation is the best show in town."  

The partnership kicked off with a t-shirt giveaway at the first game of the 2015 calendar year on January 23rd against Providence College, helping the team reach a sellout crowd of 6,750, which included 1,488 students. The t-shirt design mimicked our new alternate jerseys (in gray) and featured the Mercedes-Benz logo across the back. Mercedes-Benz of Burlington opened this past spring and to kick things off, they partnered with UMass Lowell athletics to promote their new dealership in the second semester. Mercedes-Benz had a different car on the front steps of the Tsongas Center at all home hockey games in the spring semester. In addition, they have had a second vehicle on-site to drive on to the ice while Rowdy the River Hawk fires t-shirts from his cannon through the moon roof of the vehicle.

Awards are presented in 13 categories, with each category divided into three groups based upon school size and conference affiliations to promote fairness. An association record of more than 1,000 awards entries were received for the 2014-15 year.

NACMA is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities; enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics; and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of athletics marketing administrators. For more information about NACMA, please visit www.nacma.com. NACMA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 50th year. For more information on NACDA and the 13 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.