Tom Renner, longtime publicist for the MIAA and retired associate vice president for public and community relations at Hope College, has agreed to continue serving the MIAA as the conference’s historian, Commissioner David Neilson announced Tuesday.
Renner, whose retirement from the college took effect at the end of last year, served as the MIAA publicist from 1967 until 2008, at which time he took on the role of historian for the conference. He will expand that role in his retirement.
Under Renner’s leadership, the MIAA became one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the country to establish its own website to disseminate scores, schedules and conference news in the mid-1990s.
Renner began Hope’s sports information program in 1967 and served as sports information director for the college until last summer. The MIAA in 2008 established an award honoring outstanding student workers in sports information offices, establishing the Renner Associate SID Award.
Renner’s many honors for his work include publication awards from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and recognition for service from both CoSIDA and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan.