DALLAS (NCBWA) – The Game Headwear has teamed with the Dick Howser Trophy Committee as corporate sponsor for the 2017 Dick Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear, which will be denoted for the 31st time this June to NCAA Division I college baseball's player of the year.

The Game Headwear, a division of MV Sport/Weatherproof (a family-owned and operated company founded in 1948), is one of the leading national suppliers of custom decorated apparel with outstanding custom-decorated baseball caps, sweatshirts, tees, and accessories.

The Game Headwear also is among the country's largest and most sophisticated screen printers and embroiderers. One of its top national clients is Coastal Carolina baseball, which won the 2016 NCAA Division I championship.

"The Game has connected with college baseball for many years and is the official headwear supplier to over 1,000 school baseball teams," said Josh Peyser, president of MV Sport/The Game. "Our company is proud to be associated with the Dick Howser Trophy, the preeminent award in collegiate baseball."

"As a company The Game identifies with the four cornerstones of the Dick Howser Trophy: courage, character, leadership, and performance," stated Troy Corbin, Vice President of MV Sport/The Game. "We are excited to be aligned with an award that embodies these strong values and look forward to a long lasting relationship in promoting these values in the game of baseball and beyond."

"We are delighted to partner with The Game Headwear for the 2017 Dick Howser Trophy," said Howser Trophy 31-year chair David Feaster of St. Petersburg, Fla. "This traditional trophy given in memory of Dick Howser exemplifies performance on the field, leadership, moral character, and courage - qualities practiced daily during Dick Howser's life."

The Howser Trophy committee and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association annually announce the award at a Saturday national news conference at TD Ameritrade Park prior to the opening game of the NCAA Division I Baseball College World Series. This year's news conference will be held on Saturday, June 17, in Omaha along with the NCBWA DI Coach of the Year, NCBWA DI Stopper of the Year, and presentation of the coveted NCBWA Wilbur Snypp Award to Ralph Zobell of BYU for lifetime contributions to college baseball. The NCBWA has been the official voting body for the Dick Howser Trophy since 1999.

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 which were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.

The 2016 Howser Trophy went to Clemson All-America OF Seth Beer, the first freshman ever awarded with this national honor. That honor tied the Tigers with Texas with a record three Howser Trophy winners since the trophy first was presented in 1987. Previous Howser Trophy recipients include future Major League Baseball All-Stars, team managers, No. 1 draft choices, and even CoSIDA Academic All-America selections.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at Florida State (1957-58), then head coach of the Seminoles in 1979 after a career as a Major League player and coach. After one year in the college ranks, he 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.

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 Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Howser's death. In the previous four decades of selections there have been dozens of Major League All-Stars, a MLB manager (second winner Robin Ventura of Oklahoma State in 1988 with the Chicago White Sox), the most recent two-way player in the majors and only two-time Howser Trophy winner Brooks Kieschnick of Texas in 1992 and 1993, MLB World Series stars Jason Varitek of Georgia Tech in 1994 and Mark Teixeira of Georgia Tech in 2000; majors' veterans Rickie Weeks of Southern U. in 2003, Jered Weaver of Long Beach State in 2004 and Alex Gordon of Nebraska in 2005; All-Star pitcher and Cy Young award winner David Price of Vanderbilt in 2007, National League and World Series MVP as well as NL Rookie of the Year Buster Posey of Florida State in 2008; all-time Owls great Anthony Rendon of Rice in 2010, 2016 MLB World Series hero 3B Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs and the University of San Diego in 2013, and starting second baseman for the Boston Red Sox and 2015 recipient Andrew Benintendi, among others in a diamond-studded history.

2017 Dick Howser Trophy:
• Thu., May 18: Dick Howser Trophy semifinalists announced
• Thu., June 1: The Game Headwear to sponsor Dick Howser Trophy
• Thu., June 8: Dick Howser Trophy finalists announced
• Sat., June 17: Dick Howser Trophy presented at College World Series

Related links:
• More on the Dick Howser Trophy