Joe Mitch

USBWA breakfasts figure to be a Final Four highlight

By JOE MITCH / Executive Director
mitch@usbwa.com

The USBWA will once again honor its national men's player and coach of the year with an awards breakfast at the Final Four.

This year's breakfast will be held at 8 a.m. Friday, April 2, at the Columbia Club in downtown Indianapolis. The breakfast has become an annual tradition for USBWA events during the Final Four since the first awards breakfast was held in St. Louis in 2005.

The event has drawn sellout crowds to see presentation of the Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Trophy and the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award.

USBWA members make introductory remarks about the recipients and serve as presenters of the awards, and one member serves as emcee for the breakfast.

Proceeds from the breakfast benefit the USBWA's scholarship program for students pursuing careers in sports journalism and provide funding for various member services, including the annual membership directory.

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The USBWA also uses funds from the breakfast to make a charitable contribution to the National Kidney Foundation on behalf of Oscar Robertson, who donated a kidney to his daughter Tia several years ago.

Helping the USBWA market the event locally in Indianapolis and sell tickets to the breakfast is the marketing agency Compton Strategies, whose owner, Ray Compton, is a former sportswriter for the Indianapolis News.

Tickets for the breakfast are $75 each for the general public and $60 for USBWA members and can be purchased by calling Compton Strategies at 317-826-1175.

Annual Business Meeting and Awards Breakfast

This is traditionally held on the morning of the championship game and will be held at 9 a.m. on Monday, April 5, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, Ballrooms 7-9.

The USBWA will present the Katha Quinn Award to Chris Fallon of the NIT and honor this year's Hall of Fame class, comprised of Skip Myslenski and Bud Withers and former NCAA Executive Director, Walter Byers, whose idea led to the formation of the USBWA in 1956.

The breakfast is free to members. USBWA's annual business meeting follows the awards' presentations.

Women's Final Four Breakfast

This event has struggled to attract as many writers as at the men's Final Four. Josh Krulewitz of ESPN, which sponsors both breakfasts, and Big East Conference women's media director Rachel Margolis have offered their help to increase attendance for this year's April 6 breakfast at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Antonio.

Besides presentation of the association's player and coach of the year awards, there are plans to feature speakers who can talk about issues dealing with the media and women's basketball.

USBWA Sportswriting Seminar

This year's seminar will be held Thursday morning, April 1, at the NCAA's headquarters in Indianapolis. Students from journalism programs at Indiana University and other surrounding universities are invited to attend a session featuring a panel of USBWA members and then are assigned events to cover at the men's NCAA Final Four, including one student whose assignment is the national championship game. Students can submit their stories in a writing contest, with the winner receiving a $1,000 scholarship from the USBWA.

Malcolm Moran, former USBWA president and now head of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State, is handling the seminar for the USBWA. Students can register for the seminar by contacting Malcolm via email at mum24@psu.edu.