Meet our Staff...about Blue Ribbon Yearbook

CHRIS DORTCH - Editor and President, Blue Ribbon Sports Media Group, LLC
Chris Dortch is the editor of Blue Ribbon Yearbook series of college sports preview publications. He covered college basketball, football and golf for four newspapers in a 20-year career before taking over Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook full time in 1996. Since then he also designed and helped launch Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook. The Blue Ribbon publications are widely used by CBS, ESPN, college play-by-play announcers, print media, coaches and NBA and NFL scouts.

Dortch is also a correspondent for Sports Illustrated and has written numerous free-lance articles for newspapers, magazines and websites, including SportingNews.com, ESPN.com, SportsIllustrated.com, and CBSSports.com. Dortch has written five books, including String Music: Inside the Rise of SEC Basketball, and taught sports writing at East Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

CRAIG LADD - Senior Associate Editor
Craig's journalism career began at Athlon Sports Communications as an editor. After nine years at Athlon, Craig moved on to SportsNashville and Titans Exclusive as Production Manager/Editor. Two years later, he became the Managing Editor of Big Orange Illustrated. Along the way he also was the Sports Editor for the Nashville City Paper.

In 2004 Craig became Associate Editor for Blue Ribbon College Football and College Yearbooks. In 2009 he was promoted to Senior Associate Editor. A native of Franklin, Tenn., he attended Battle Ground Academy and graduated in 1981. He later attended the University of Tennessee and received a BS in Communications in 1986.

CHRISTINA CARDEN - Creative Director
Christina Carden has been making a name for herself in the design industry over the last decade. She is currently the Associate Production director for Journal Communications, where she assists with the daily oversight and direction of 20-plus production and design staff for a custom media company. She also provides contracted design consultation and application including branding, marketing, advertising, and publishing in print design for several companies such as Blue Ribbon Yearbook.