Manischewitz is thinking outside the box – literally.<\/p>\n
The iconic Jewish food company has it all figured out when it comes to things like making matzah and selling kosher wine. Now, it\u2019s asking America to help solve a different, non-food-related mystery: Who is the best Jewish college athlete in the country? <\/p>\n
The company is calling it the quest for the \u201cL\u2019Cheisman\u201d trophy, a play on NCAA football\u2019s Heisman Trophy. And the two winners of the quest will receive a distinctly Jewish honor: their photograph displayed on boxes of Manischewitz matzah.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the official SEARCH FOR THE BEST JEWISH COLLEGE ATHLETEs IN AMERICA, a national competition celebrating the grit, talent, spirit, and pride amongst Jewish NCAA athletes across the country,\u201d the quest\u2019s website reads.<\/p>\n
Manischewitz, which was founded in Cincinnati in 1888 before relocating to the New York metropolitan area, first dipped its toes in student athlete partnerships last year, when then-Brigham Young University quarterback Jake Retzlaff (the \u201cB-Y-Jew\u201d) was featured on a set of matzah boxes. (Retzlaff has since transferred to Tulane University.)<\/p>\n
Student athlete deals had previously been off the table until 2021, when the NCAA implemented new rules allowing players to profit off their name, image and likeness. Seidman said the success of last year\u2019s promotion convinced Manischewitz to expand the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew we tapped into something big, and we wanted to continue,\u201d Shani Seidman, Manischewitz\u2019s chief marketing officer, said in an interview.<\/p>\n
Now, throughout December and January, Manischewitz has an open nomination form to which anybody can submit their choice, for both a men\u2019s and women\u2019s division. The form asks not only what sport and school the athlete participates in, but also the question, \u201cWhy are they a great representative of the Jewish community?\u201d<\/p>\n
In February, finalists will be revealed and the decision will be put to a vote on social media; the voting results will be decided by the general public, as well as a weighted vote by a \u201cteam of experts\u201d on the Manischewitz side, and the winner announced in March. <\/p>\n
Seidman said the voting criteria include how much the nominee \u201cexcels\u201d in their sport, as well as what Manischewitz is calling their \u201cmensch meter.\u201d<\/p>\n
That \u201cmensch meter\u201d means looking for a winner \u201cwho is part of the community, has a strong Jewish identity, and contributes to their community,\u201d Seidman said. \u201cWe want to spotlight Jewish excellence in all of these areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seidman said last year\u2019s Retzlaff matzah boxes sparked an \u201coutpouring\u201d of excitement, with numerous Jewish athletes and teams reaching out about potential partnerships. Manischewitz sponsored and designed the bright orange jerseys of a Jewish youth Idaho ice hockey team called the Flying Latkes, Seidman said.<\/p>\n
This coming spring, the two winners of Manischewitz\u2019s search will be awarded by having their face printed on limited-edition matzah boxes, as well as with a $10,000 cash prize and recognition from the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
While the winners will come away from the search with unleavened glory, the social media voting process itself will be \u201ca great platform to celebrate\u201d and introduce Jewish student athletes from around the country to a larger, more national audience, Seidman said.<\/p>\n
In a release about the initiative, Manischewitz pointed to Jewish student athletes as not only high achievers, but also some of the most visible Jewish figures on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years, Jewish college athletes have been breaking stereotypes, smashing expectations, and dominating across every sport in the NCAA. What people don\u2019t realize is that these athletes are often the most prominent Jewish representatives on campus,\u201d the press release reads.<\/p>\n
\u201cManischewitz wants to give these athletes the recognition they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manischewitz is thinking outside the box – literally. The iconic Jewish food company has it all figured out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[12324,11798,163,85,46,100435,100434,543],"class_list":{"0":"post-169222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-athletes","9":"tag-contest","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-manischewitz","14":"tag-matza","15":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}