NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Norwich University Associate Director of Athletic Communications Ben Zacher '20 M'25 has been selected to participate in the 2026 NCAA Division III Athletic Communicators Emerging Elite Program, joining a national cohort of 30 professionals chosen for the three-day leadership and professional development experience.

The program will be held Dec. 6-8 at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis and brings together athletic communications professionals from across Division III for interactive sessions focused on leadership, team management, collaboration, professional growth, and the changing landscape of collegiate athletic communications.

Launched in 2024, the Emerging Elite Program was developed in partnership with the Division III Sports Information Directors Association (D3SIDA) and College Sports Communicators (CSC) to support the next generation of Division III athletic communications leaders.  The 2026 cohort marks the third class selected for the program.

Each year, 30 participants are chosen nationally and receive full funding to attend.  Participants also receive a complimentary one-time registration to the College Sports Communicators Convention the following June.

"I am incredibly grateful and excited to be selected for the Emerging Elite Program," Zacher said.  "Athletic communications is a profession that asks you to wear a lot of different hats, and over the last several years, I have had the opportunity to grow in almost every area of the field at Norwich.  This program comes at a point in my career where I am thinking more and more about leadership, building a strong department, mentoring others, and how I can continue to grow into someone capable of leading an athletic communications operation at a high level.

"To be one of 30 professionals selected nationally is an incredible honor, and I am especially excited to learn alongside people who are facing many of the same challenges and opportunities across Division III.  I know I will come back from Indianapolis with ideas and perspectives that will help me continue to improve what we do here at Norwich."

Zacher enters his fifth season within Norwich Athletic Communications in 2026-27 after joining the department in August 2022 as Broadcast & Video Coordinator and earning a promotion to Associate Director later that fall.

He currently helps oversee the department's day-to-day operations while supporting media relations and communications efforts for all 23 Norwich varsity programs.  He serves as the primary athletic communications contact for football, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, and men's tennis.

Across his time at Norwich, Zacher has served as the primary contact for 17 of the University's 23 varsity programs, giving him experience across nearly every area of the department's sport coverage and game-day operation.

His responsibilities include website management, statistics, live broadcasts, photography and video coordination, social media, press releases, game-day staffing, championship coverage, student-worker supervision, and departmental planning.

Among his most visible projects has been the redesign and launch of the Norwich Athletics website through SIDEARM Sports and the implementation of the University's Digital Athletic Hall of Fame, which now includes both online and touchscreen components within the Athletic Center.

Zacher also serves as the primary informational advisor to the Norwich University Athletic Hall of Fame Selection Committee, coordinating historical materials and nominations while also serving as emcee for the annual induction ceremony.

His event and championship responsibilities have continued to expand in recent years.  Zacher helped lead Norwich's hosting of the 2024 and 2025 GNAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships and served as the official scorer for the 2026 GNAC Men's Golf Championships.  He also assists with annual department events and special competitions, including the Ed Hockenbury Basketball Classic, Chris Munn 7s Rugby Tournament, Senior Day ceremonies, NCAA postseason events, and conference championship operations.

Zacher has also taken a major role in Norwich's student-athlete recognition efforts, coordinating nominations and promotional campaigns for conference, regional, and national honors.

During his tenure, Norwich has produced four GNAC Athletes of the Year across three academic years: Benjamin Stark '24, Will Thompson '25, Seth Varin '26, and Reilly Laitala '26.  He has also coordinated College Sports Communicators Academic All-America efforts across the department, including the successful nominations of Ann-Frederique Guay '23 of women's ice hockey and Madison DeCota '27 of softball.

One of the largest areas of growth within the department has come through student staffing.  Zacher supervises Norwich Athletic Communications' work-study operation, which has grown from three students when he arrived to more than a dozen contributors working in statistics, photography, videography, broadcasting, and game production.

That experience has also given Zacher a growing role as a mentor and supervisor, with responsibilities ranging from hiring and scheduling to training students in live production, statistics, writing, visual content, and other areas of athletic communications.

In December 2025, Zacher was named to the College Sports Communicators 30 Under 30 Class of 2025, a national honor recognizing emerging professionals across collegiate athletics.  A record 183 nominations were submitted that year, with only nine NCAA Division III professionals selected.

The Emerging Elite Program builds on that recognition by focusing specifically on leadership preparation within Division III athletic communications.

Participants will take part in sessions centered on leading an athletic communications unit, managing and developing staff, collaborating across departments, navigating changes within college athletics, and building strategies that can be applied directly on their campuses.

For Zacher, the opportunity comes as his role at Norwich continues to move beyond individual sport coverage and into broader departmental leadership.

"My career at Norwich has given me the chance to learn this profession from almost every angle," Zacher said.  "I have been fortunate to work across so many of our sports, manage major projects, supervise students, cover championships, and help tell the stories of our student-athletes and coaches.  The next step for me is continuing to develop as a leader and learning how to build and guide a department in a way that supports both the people doing the work and the student-athletes we serve.

"That is what makes this opportunity so meaningful to me.  I am excited to represent Norwich, learn from some of the best young professionals in Division III, and bring that experience back to our department."

Zacher graduated magna cum laude from Norwich in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Communications and minors in English and Writing.  He earned his Master of Science in Leadership from Norwich in February 2025.

The 2026 Division III Athletic Communicators Emerging Elite Program will take place Dec. 6-8 at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis.