Top collegiate online sites announced

ACP Pacemaker competition names 55 finalists as ‘the best of the best’

Oct. 9, 2020

MINNEAPOLIS — The Associated Collegiate Press has recognized 55 online news and magazine sites as finalists in the Online Pacemaker competition.

Pacemaker finalists will be recognized and the Pacemaker winners announced virtually at 6 p.m. Eastern Thursday, Oct. 22, during the Fall National College Media Convention.

“The Pacemaker is the association’s preeminent award,” executive director Laura Widmer said. “ACP is honored to recognize the best of the best.”

The 55 online finalists represent 23 states. California set the pace with 12 finalists followed by Illinois with eight and Texas with five. Of the 55 finalists, 24 will earn Pacemaker honors. 

Online sites from two-year and four-year schools competed in separate divisions. There are five two-year schools and 50 four-year schools honored as Pacemaker finalists.

Within the four-year school category, websites competed against those from colleges and universities with similar enrollments.

To select the finalists, respected professionals including professors and current digital media professionals analyzed discussed and rated each entry.

“Today’s best online sites are platforms for rich multimedia storytelling,” said Gary Lundgren, associate director and coordinator of the Pacemaker competition. “Deep and diverse coverage with strong engagement and interactivity distinguish the best student-produced sites.” 

In this competition, only the online product was judged. Print newspapers compete in a separate competition. The ACP Newspaper Pacemaker finalists were announced earlier this week.

Finalists are alphabetical by state.

2020 Pacemaker finalists

Broadcast • Business • Innovation
Magazine • Newspaper • Online • 2019 Yearbook

2020 Individual Award Finalists

Advertisement • Cartoon • Design
Multimedia • Reporter • Photo • Story
Best Use of Social Media • COVID-19 Coverage

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Four-year schools

The Auburn Plainsman
theplainsman.com
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama

The Orion
theorion.com
California State University, Chico
Chico, California

Daily Forty-Niner
daily49er.com
California State University, Long Beach
Long Beach, California

The Occidental
theoccidentalnews.com
Occidental College
Los Angeles, California

PRIME from the Daily Bruin
prime.dailybruin.com
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Daily Bruin
dailybruin.com
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Daily Trojan
dailytrojan.com
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Graphic
pepperdine-graphic.com
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California

Mustang News
mustangnews.net
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, California

The Echo
cluecho.com
California Lutheran University
Thousand Oaks, California

CU Independent
cuindependent.com
University of Colorado
Boulder, Colorado

The GW Hatchet
gwhatchet.com
The George Washington University
Washington , D.C.

Distraction
distractionmagazine.com
University of Miami
Coral Gables, Florida

The Connector
scadconnector.com
Savannah College of Art and Design Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia

The Daily Illini
dailyillini.com
University of Illinois
Champaign, Illinois

Columbia Chronicle
columbiachronicle.com
Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

14 East
fourteeneastmag.com
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

F Newsmagazine
fnewsmagazine.com
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Maroon
chicagomaroon.com
The University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Daily Egyptian
dailyegyptian.com
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, Illinois

The Daily Northwestern
dailynorthwestern.com
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Vision
ncclinked.com/vision
North Central College
Naperville, Illinois

Indiana Daily Student
idsnews.com
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana

The Ball State Daily News
ballstatedailynews.com
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana

The Daily Iowan
dailyiowan.com
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

The University Daily Kansan
kansan.com
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

Talisman
wkutalisman.com
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, Kentucky

College Heights Herald
wkuherald.com
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, Kentucky

The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor , Michigan

The Minnesota Daily
mndaily.com
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MInnesota

The Equinox
kscequinox.com
Keene State College
Keene, New Hampshire

The Ithacan
theithacan.org
Ithaca College
Ithaca, New York

The Observer
fordhamobserver.com
Fordham University
New York, New York

NYCity News Service
nycitynewsservice.com
The City University of New York
New York, New York

The Daily Orange
dailyorange.com
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York

The Daily Tar Heel
dailytarheel.com
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel HIll, North Carolina

The Chronicle
dukechronicle.com
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

Elon News Network
elonnewsnetwork.com
Elon University
Elon, North Carolina

MediaOCU
mediaocu.com
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Ethos
dailyemerald.com/ethos
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon

The Daily Barometer
orangemedianetwork.com/daily_barometer
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon

The Shorthorn
theshorthorn.com
The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas

The Rice Thresher
ricethresher.org
Rice University
Houston, Texas

DailyToreador.com
dailytoreador.com
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas

Baylor Lariat
baylorlariat.com
Baylor University
Waco, Texas

The Utah Statesman
usustatesman.com
Utah State University
Logan, Utah

The Daily Universe
universe.byu.edu
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah

The Breeze
breezejmu.org
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia

PULSE
cwupulsemagazine.com
Central Washington University
Ellensburg, Washington

DA: The Daily Athenaeum
thedaonline.com
West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia

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Two-year schools

The Skyline View
theskylineview.com
Skyline College
San Bruno, California

el Don
eldonnews.org
Santa Ana College
Santa Ana, California

The Corsair
thecorsaironline.com
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, California

Foghorn News
foghornnews.com
Del Mar College
Corpus Christi, Texas

The Et Cetera
eastfieldnews.com
Eastfield College
Mesquite, Texas