Dave Jones
By Mark Blaudschun
The days -- and nights -- are different now for Dave Jones.
No more deadlines, countless calls, endless chasing down of rumors.
No more pressure to produce the next, "What's next?" in a career which spanned more than 40 years and gave him Hall of Fame credentials not only in Central and Western Pennsylvania, but nationally.
For all of this, as well as a nine-year run with the Columbus Dispatch when he came out of Ohio State as a future industrial designer who morphed into a sports writer, Jones is a well deserving winner of the 2024 FWAA Lifetime Achievement Award.
"I'm overwhelmed,"Jones said a few months into his retirement after a 34-year stint with the Harrisburg Patriot-News and PennLive, the past 22 years as a columnist. "I know a lot of people from different sectors of our business have won this, so it makes it even more special. All I really cared about was that my peers respected me. I always wrote stories of what I thought people wanted to know. This means so much."
Jones is the 13th recipient of the FWAA award that began in 2013. The previous winners are Art Spander, San Francisco Examiner (2013); Bill Little, University of Texas (2014); Irv Moss, Denver Post (2015); Buddy Davis, Ruston Daily Leader (2016); Mike Finn, ACC (2017); Dave Plati, University of Colorado (2018); Paul Hoolahan, Sugar Bowl, and Wright Waters, College Bowl Association (2019); Sid Hartman, Minnepolis Star-Tribune (2020): Shelly Poe, Auburn University (2021): Donald Hunt, Philadelphia Tribune (2022), and Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register (2023).
"When Dave Jones called, you knew one of two things: either the FWAA had done something he didn't like or he was about to become the grand inquisitor regarding a column subject he was researching," said FWAA Executive Director Steve Richardson. "For the next 20 minutes, he would rapid-fire questions at you like a machine gun gone beserk. He had to drain you of every ounce of your knowledge on the topic he was discussing."
Jones grew up in an era when print journalism ruled the industry, which brought him to Harrisburg in 1989 as the Penn State beat reporter for football and basketball.
Normally, that would be a nice regional job in a smaller market.
But Jones' arrival in Harrisburg was soon followed by Penn State's addition to the Big Ten, which opened the spectrum considerably.
Normally, the icons of journalism blossom in major markets, with increased media exposure coming with the birth of ESPN. For many wanna be writers, that is the Holy Grail. But in some instances, the big fish in the smaller pond syndrome kicks in.
That was the case with Jones, who quickly established himself as the "go to''' guy for any national writer looking for information about Penn State that wasn't obvious or even available.
Coaching searches, scandals, conference expansion chatter and for the past few years, NIL and transfer portal issues, Jones was the ultimate source.
"I drank it all in,'' said Jones, who officially retired last March. "I'm not going to lie to you. It was great fun, working with great people.''
A few years ago, Jones did a profile on a long-time Pennsylvania high school coach who had retired and moved to Florida.
Jones was stunned when the coach told him he missed very little of his previous life. "You'll see,'' said the coach with a smile.
Two months into his retirement, Jones' day was fixing the walkway to his house and repairing a fence in his backyard.
His main chore of the day was a trip to Home Depot.
"Don't miss any of it,'' he said when asked about his sports interest. "I watched maybe a few minues of one quarter of the NBA finals (this past season)."
Jones says he will keep an eye on Penn State football and a closer look at Penn State basketball. "They're interesting and always fighting for recognition,'' said Jones."It won't bother me if I never step foot in Nittany Lion (Beaver Stadium) again. Well, maybe in a luxury suite."
He will spend his days working on his house, spending time with his family and traveling with his wife Anna. "It was a great run,'' Jones said.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.