South Dakota Mines Student Earns Four National Awards for Hardrocker Athletics Creative Pieces
A South Dakota Mines student is earning national acclaim for his award-winning creative work. Carter Aispuro, a senior computer engineering major and student worker for Hardrocker Athletics, captured four awards in the College Sports Communications (CSC) Creative & Digital Design Contest, setting a new record for the university’s program. He received the honors at the 2026 CSC Convention in Las Vegas, Nev.
“I am super proud of Carter for these well-deserved awards,” said Luke Kotcher, assistant athletic director of athletic communications. “CSC is the most respected organization in our profession and to be recognized is unbelievable. Carter represents our student group, Hardrocker Athletics and South Dakota Mines proudly in his everyday work and fully deserves these awards.”
The awards came from two different pieces Aispuro created - a Hardrocker Volleyball hype video and a Rocker Recap.
“I’m super proud to be honored like this on a national level,” said Aispuro, who has been working with the university’s athletics program for two years. “I believe we're truly just scratching the surface of what's possible with our content. If I can achieve this with just my videos, think about what we can do with a team of students all working towards making the best athletics videos possible.”
His 2025 volleyball hype video received three recognitions in the highly competitive hype/pregame video category. Aispuro earned the second-best ranking in NCAA Division II, the fourth highest mark among student workers and seventh in the entire College Division.
His March 4 edition of Rocker Recap earned the third-best mark among student works in the College Division.
Overall, CSC saw 2,565 total entries in the Creative & Digital Design Contest, including 1,585 in the College Division. Nearly 90 contest reviewers judged the entries this past year.
“I’m so thankful for Luke and the rest of the administrative team that was willing to put their trust in me and our other students to make this happen,” Aispuro said.
Check out Aispuro’s award-winning videos at gorockers.com