OMAHA, Neb. (NCBWA) – The Dick Howser Trophy Committee, consisting of executive members of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Chamber of Commerce and the College Baseball Foundation, is pleased to announce a sponsorship with Easton Foundations beginning in 2011, the 25th anniversary of the award.

Thanks to a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Easton, the award will now be known as the "Dick Howser Trophy presented by the Easton Foundations" through the 2013 season.

Easton Foundation's support of the Dick Howser Trophy will also provide $5,000 in annual scholarships that will be given to Division I institutions.

"The Easton Foundations are extremely excited to be involved with the Dick Howser Trophy and proud to honor the nation's top college baseball player," said Greg Easton, Vice-President and Director of Easton Foundations. "We are also pleased to reward the academic success of these student-athletes and their Universities with support through scholarships. The assistance with the presentation of the trophy and the scholarships is a great way to demonstrate our commitment of giving back to the game of baseball."

The Easton Foundations encourages and engages youth to participate and develop skills in the sports of archery, baseball, softball, ice hockey, and cycling – those sports in which the Easton Sports companies developed innovative equipment. It contributes to selected 501(c)(3) charitable groups and universities that share its vision of excellence and innovation in sports programs, business and engineering education, and medical research.

"The Dick Howser Trophy represents excellence in leadership, character, baseball and academic performance by a top NCAA Division I player each year," said Jana Howser, Executive Vice-President, College Baseball Foundation. "Easton Sports has a long and important history in college baseball and all of amateur baseball. As we near the announcement of the 24th Dick Howser Trophy, we are so pleased to partner with the Easton Foundations in naming the top collegiate athlete. We are equally thrilled to add a scholarship component to be awarded to the finalists' schools."

"The Easton Foundations sponsorship of what this award represents would mean so very much to my Dad," added Howser. "He was deeply committed to advancing college baseball and supporting higher education throughout his life in Major League Baseball."

"We feel we have the premier award in all of college baseball," said David Feaster, Chairman of the Dick Howser Trophy Committee. "We have almost a quarter of a century working with and supporting college baseball. We look forward to a long relationship with an outstanding organization like Easton Foundations."

The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball's most prestigious award. Criteria for consideration for the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage, qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at Florida State (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979 after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

The 2010 Dick Howser Trophy winner will be announced on Friday, July 2. The winner will be announced on the College Baseball Awards show, airing on MLB.com that evening. The three finalists this year are Miami (Fla.) catcher Yasmani Grandal, Mississippi pitcher Drew Pomeranz and Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon.

NCBWA membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport's only college media-related organization, founded in 1962.

The College Baseball Foundation was established in 2004 and has inducted 57 greats into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock. The group promotes the highest ideals and recognition of greatness on college baseball diamonds in the 150 years since the first intercollegiate contest in 1859 between Amherst and Williams.

The Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Howser's death. Previous winners of the Howser Trophy are Mike Fiore, Miami, 1987; Robin Ventura, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, Texas, 1989; Alex Fernandez, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990; Frank Rodriguez, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick, Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton, Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, Florida State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, Baylor, 1999; Mark Teixeira, Georgia Tech, 2000; Mark Prior, P, USC, 2001, Khalil Greene, SS, Clemson, 2002; Rickey Weeks, 2B, Southern U., 2003; Jered Weaver, P, Long Beach State, 2004; Alex Gordon, 3B, Nebraska, 2005; Brad Lincoln, P/DH, Houston, 2006; David Price, P, Vanderbilt, 2007; Buster Posey, C, Florida State, 2008 and Stephen Strasburg, P, San Diego State, 2009.

For more information on the Dick Howser Trophy presented by Easton Foundations, contact Caren Sawyer of Easton Foundations at 818-901-0127 or Russell Anderson of Conference USA at 214-774-1300. Please also visit ncbwa.com or learn more about Easton Foundations at eastonfoundations.org.

2010 Dick Howser Trophy:
• May 20: Dick Howser Trophy semifinalists announced
• June 8: Two Howser Trophy winners to make MLB debuts
• June 19: Dick Howser Trophy finalists announced
• June 29: Dick Howser Trophy, Easton Foundations reach sponsorship agreement
• July 2: Dick Howser Trophy Winner announced on the College Baseball Awards Show