Joe Mitch

Send us your Hall of Fame and award nominations

By JOE MITCH / Executive Director
mitch@usbwa.com

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association annually presents awards at the end of the season honoring individuals for their service to college basketball and sports journalism.

If you as a USBWA member have a person you wish to nominate, we encourage you to do so before the end of the year. Please send nominations either to me or President Andy Katz.

Here's a list of the USBWA awards:

HALL OF FAME: Established in 1988, the USBWA Hall of Fame honors past and present members who are recognized for their contributions to the organization and achievements in sports writing.

To be eligible for consideration, an individual must have 20 years of service in the profession.

The current number of inductees in the Hall of Fame is 49. Last year's inductee was Frank Boggs, a past president of the USBWA and former sportswriter for the Daily Oklahoman, Topeka Capital-Journal and Dallas Times-Herald and sports columnist for the Colorado Springs Sun.

MOST COURAGEOUS: Since 1978, the USBWA has honored individuals who wage courageous battles in the face of adversity and personal hardships.

Last year's recipient was the Duquesne men's program, which was rocked when five players were wounded during a shooting following a campus party in September 2006. Two eligible players who were shot missed the entire season.

Other award winners include Grant Dykstra, who overcame a farming accident that left one of his arms mangled as a child to become a standout player at Western Washington; Trey Schwab, a Marquette assistant who had a double-lung transplant; the Oklahoma State program following the plane crash that killed 10 members of the team; former Tulsa and Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson for dealing with racial prejudice in life and the death of his daughter from leukemia; and Tennessee Tech coach Mike Sutton, who has continued to coach while battling the paralyzing effects of Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

KATHA QUINN AWARD: This award is presented in memory of Katha Quinn, the late sports information director at St. John's University who died of cancer in 1990.

The award honors individuals for their service and contributions to the USBWA, especially those who have excelled at servicing the media and, like Katha, are an inspiration to those in the sports journalism profession.

I was fortunate enough to be given the award this past April and am indebted to the board and officers of the organization who chose to honor me.

Other past recipients include SIDs Tim Tolokan of Connecticut and Steve Kirschner and Rick Brewer of North Carolina; former NCAA media coordinators Bill Hancock and Jim Marchiony; Craig Miller of USA Basketball; and Washington Post sports writer Mark Asher.