Greenwood, Ind. - As College Sports Communicators continued to roll out its annual awards ahead of its 2024 convention this summer in Las Vegas, Adelphi University Associate Athletic Director for External Relations and Senior Woman Administrator Emily Dorko was announced as one of the organization's two Rising Star Award winners from its College Division.

 "Emily is a star in this business. Her passion for the Adelphi student-athletes can be felt as works to provide a great experience for them every day," said Adelphi Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation Danny McCabe. "We're fortunate to have someone like Emily on our staff. She stays on top of emerging trends and best practices, always keeping her alma mater at the forefront."

A 2013 graduate of Adelphi, Dorko's professional career in the athletic communications industry spans exactly ten years in the 2023-24 academic year. After a lucrative volleyball and softball career that landed her in the Adelphi Athletic Hall of Fame only two years ago, Dorko took on her first role as a sports information graduate assistant following graduation under her mentor -- then-Associate Director of Athletics for External Relations and now-Director of Advancement at Adelphi, Adam Siepiola -- while earning her master's degree in Marketing.

"I cannot think of anyone more deserving than Emily for this award. She has been a rising star in college athletics for quite some time," Siepiola said. "Emily's passion for college athletics and relentless work ethic have allowed her to continually raise the bar of every aspect of Adelphi she has touched and I am excited to watch her continued pursuit of excellence."

Dating back to its inception in 2006, the Rising Star Award honors a CSC member with 10 years of service or less whose work, service, dedication, energy and enthusiasm to the profession makes that individual a "rising star" in athletic communications.

Upon receiving her master's from Adelphi in 2015, Dorko immediately ran her own shop, assuming her first full-time position of Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communications at New York Institute of Technology.

It wasn't long before Dorko's title soon escalated to her current role of Associate Athletic Director for External Relations at Adelphi, where she has remained at her old stomping grounds since February 2017. A short time following her return, Dorko succeeded legendary Adelphi athletics administrator and former successful softball coach Kate Whalen as Senior Woman Administrator. Whalen departed Long Island in September 2019 to become the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and Senior Woman Administrator at Regis University in Colorado.

"As a former two-sport athlete at Adelphi, Emily's successful career as a student at Adelphi unsurprisingly propelled her into a head SID position right out of graduate school. Her dedication to college athletics and unmatched work ethic put her in a position to earn a deserving role as an Associate Athletic Director at Adelphi very early on in her career," Whalen reminisced. "I was fortunate to become Emily's colleague when she returned to Adelphi as the Associate Athletic Director for External Relations and continue to collaborate with her since moving on. Emily is so very deserving of this recognition."

"It's an honor to receive an award by an organization that has seen a significant amount of change in the past several years. While the recognition is appreciated, I am humble in thinking that the work I've done alongside my colleagues has only begun to scratch the surface for our industry," said Dorko of receiving the honor. 

In addition to handling sports information duties, Dorko also balances the tasks of overseeing the branding and marketing strategy of the athletic department, while acting as the liaison to the University's alumni relations, advancement and communications teams across campus.

In just a short time, Dorko was assigned to serve on the D2SIDA Executive Board as its delegate to the East Region, and the NE10 Digital Steering Committee -- a group that was formed to conceptualize the creation of the thriving NE10 NOW network platform.

Now as a mother of a five-month-old son Anthony, Dorko still effortlessly manages to guide a staff of two full-time professionals and a graduate assistant, as well as serve as the program administrator for nine of the school's 23 NCAA Division II varsity programs.

"I believe that my situation is unique - serving as the SWA while also being part of our communications staff - as I am given an opportunity to advocate firsthand for my counterparts in the NE10 with the Athletics Council. Being able to have that "seat at the table" has allowed me to speak on behalf of the SIDs in the conference to temper expectations and shed light on the ever-growing list of responsibilities that communications folks in general are continuing to take on."

A native of Matamoras, Pa. and former First Team All-State softball and volleyball player in high school, Dorko was inducted to the Delaware Valley High School Hall of Fame this past October.

Dorko will be recognized alongside all of CSC's Special Award honorees at the 2024 CSC Convention from June 9-12 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, in conjunction with NACDA and Affiliates Convention Week. As a Rising Star Award winner, Dorko's achievement will be celebrated during a Special Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, June 12.