DALLAS (NCBWA) – Longtime Omaha sportswriter Eric Olson is the recipient of the 2012 Wilbur Snypp Award, which is presented annually by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for outstanding contributions to college baseball, the organization announced Friday. Olson is in his 11th year with the Associated Press after a 16-year tenure at the Omaha World-Herald.

"It is an honor to be recognized for my work," Olson said. "College baseball is a joy to cover because it is played with such passion, and you never know how many of the players you are writing about today will be in the major leagues in the future. College baseball’s popularity has never been greater, and it is a pleasure to be able to chronicle the sport for the masses.”

Olson has covered the College World Series every year since 1992 and has written about trends and issues in college baseball in addition to the CWS throughout his tenure at AP. He also covers University of Nebraska football and major college basketball for one of the nation's largest and most trusted sources of news.

"Eric has been a fixture at the NCAA World Series with AP and the World-Herald for many years,” NCBWA executive director Bo Carter said. "His stories are insightful and rich, and he is one of the true beacons of college baseball media. This is a well-deserved and overdue honor for Eric.”

He won a number of Associated Press feature-writing awards before moving to the Omaha bureau, and covered Nebraska, Big 12 and Big Eight sports for over 20 years before changing responsibilities. Olson is a 1987 graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Olson joins an illustrious group of College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Famers, noted national journalists and others in receiving the award. The plaque memorializes the late Wilbur (Bill) Snypp, longtime Ohio State sports information director and NCBWA founder. Snypp was a noted contributor to the writers' organization, which was initiated in 1962, as well as an officer in the group. The NCBWA/Wilbur Snypp Award yearly honors a professional for contributions to the sport of college baseball. Voting is conducted by a panel of previous winners.