IRVING, Texas – Chuck Sullivan, longtime assistant commissioner for communications of the American Conference, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously from the College Sports Communicators, the CSC announced January 15.
 
The CSC Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented to members for distinguished career service who have served at least 25 years in the profession and who are retiring, have retired, or are leaving the athletic communications profession.
 
Sullivan will receive the award this year after passing away after a long battle with melanoma in November 2025. All of the 2026 CSC special award winners will be honored at CSC’s 69^th annual convention, CSC Unite 26, from June 7-10 at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. The convention is held in conjunction with NACDA and Affiliates Convention Week.
 
One of the most well-respected communications professionals in collegiate athletics, Sullivan first joined the conference staff in August of 2007 as the Big East Conference’s director of communications. After the American’s reconstitution in 2013, he was promoted to assistant commissioner for communications in January of 2015 and has overseen the communications and external operations for the American and its 20 Division I sports. In addition to supporting the promotion of the American’s student-athletes and sports, Sullivan supervised and mentored dozens of communications and external relations professionals over his time with the conference office and previously at the institution level.
 
A native of Stoughton, Massachusetts, Sullivan served on the media coordination staff for a multitude of College Football Playoff National Championship games, the NCAA Final Four and the BCS National Championship.
 
Before coming to the American, Sullivan spent time at all levels of the NCAA, including spells at Harvard from 2003-07, Bryant from 1999-2003, UMass Boston from 1995-99 and Princeton from 1993-95.
 
Sullivan’s award-winning career included numerous honors, including a Best In The Nation Award, three Best Cover Awards, three Second In The Nation Awards and three Third In The Nation Awards. He was an ex-officio member of the board of directors of the Football Writers Association of America, has served on the Academic All-America Committee of the College Sports Information Directors of America and has been a regular presenter and panelist at regional and national conventions. Sullivan received a CSC 25-yeard Award in 2020.