Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) contests — Pacemakers, Individual Awards, Best of Show, Clips & Clicks

About this program

Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) sponsors multiple competitive contests recognizing excellence in collegiate journalism—including Pacemaker awards (newspaper, magazine, online, yearbook, broadcast, innovation, multiplatform, etc.), roughly 39 Individual Awards, Best of Show, Clips & Clicks, and advertising/business awards—with cash prizes, plaques, certificates and publication of winners. Eligibility is generally limited to student media with current ACP membership and students on those staffs, though select contests (for example the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion contest) allow non-ACP entrants; each contest has specific publication windows, entry limits and required submission formats. Entry fees and deadlines vary by contest: ACP Individual Awards require ACP membership plus a $99 entry fee (payment due 2025-05-19; submissions due 2025-05-23 by 5:00 p.m. CT), Clips & Clicks charges $10 per entry, and Pacemaker category deadlines include 2025-12-19 for Business/Online/Yearbook with many categories due 2026-06-15—consult ACP for full category-specific rules and submission instructions.