Carolina’s communications and marketing office wins 20th Telly Award
The “From Hoops to Hounds” video on a former Tar Heel basketball player’s doggie daycare earned a 2026 Silver Telly.
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For the 20th time since 2018, a video from UNC-Chapel Hill’s Office of University Communications and Marketing earned a prestigious honor at the Telly Awards, a long-running competition honoring excellence in video and television across all screens.
“Hoops to Hounds” by UCM staff members Rob Holliday and Kristen Grant earned a 2026 Silver Telly in the general/pets and animals category. The video, published May 2025, featured former Tar Heel men’s basketball player Baden Jaxen’s Pup Park Shuttle business.
The video took viewers aboard the Carolina Blue-accessorized yellow minibus Jaxen uses to transport canines to a variety of parks in the Raleigh area, showing how he’s changing the doggie daycare game.
“Running with these dogs five days a week is a direct correlation to what I did at Carolina,” said Jaxen, who went by Dexter Strickland while attending the University. “Running on fast breaks during the game, so it fits right in with what we do.”
The UCM office has won at least one Telly in five of the past six years.
Explore and watch previous Telly Award-winning videos from the UCM office.
2025
Gold Telly
“A National Championship Turns 100”
Nonbroadcast/general/history
Rob Holliday (with Nick Graham)
“UNC Sail Club”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
John Roberts
Silver Telly
“Carolina Throwback: The 1990s”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
Rob Holliday
“A Century of Rameses at Carolina”
Nonbroadcast/general/history
Rob Holliday (with Nick Graham)
“Imagine Your Heelprint”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
John Roberts (with Myriad Productions)
Bronze Telly
“Clara Yang: Inspiring Creativity”
Nonbroadcast/general/biography
John Roberts
2023
Silver Telly
“A Circuitous Path”
Nonbroadcast/general/motivational
John Roberts
“A Great Day to be a Tar Heel: Andrew Buchanan”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
John Roberts
Bronze Telly
“Celebrating the Legacy of ‘The Divine Nine’ at Carolina”
Nonbroadcast/general/diversity and inclusion
Rob Holliday
“Carolina Throwback: The 1980s”
Nonbroadcast/craft/use of archival footage
Rob Holliday
“Behind the Horns”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
John Roberts
2022
Silver Telly
“What Does the Class of 2020 Stand For?”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
John Roberts
“A Passion for Animals Propels Graduating Tar Heel Hannah King”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
Rob Holliday
“A Great Day to be a Tar Heel: Dariel Liakhovetski”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
John Roberts
“Leaves, Limbs and a Legacy”
Nonbroadcast/general/nature-wildlife
Rob Holliday
Bronze Telly
“Members of Carolina’s Class of 2021 reflect on their experiences at UNC-Chapel Hill”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
Rob Holliday
“Giving New Life to Historic Trees”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution/sustainability
Rob Holliday
2021
Silver Telly
“Families of the UNC Class of 2020 Cheer on Their Graduates”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
Rob Holliday
2018
Bronze Telly
“Family vs. Fandom”
Nonbroadcast/general/educational institution
Rob Holliday
