Iconic sportscaster Bob Costas speaks with UT-Austin students in advance of his giving the 2018 Frank Deford Lecture on Sports Journalism.
About CSCM
The Center for Sports Communication & Media brings together interests in the instruction, practice, and scholarship of sports journalism, broadcasting, media production, and human communication. It serves the mission of the Moody College of Communication and The University of Texas at Austin through its commitment to the highest quality of teaching, research, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Kindred, Ballard named 2018 Jenkins Medal winners
The jury for the Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportswriting has named Dave Kindred and Chris Ballard the 2018 award winners. As the second annual medal recipients, Kindred won the Lifetime Achievement award while Ballard was honored for the best sportswriting of the previous year. The national awards, named in honor of the legendary Texas sportswriter, celebrate the craft and culture of sportswriting that Dan Jenkins has personified through his storied career. The winners will be honored and will receive their medals – presented by Jenkins, himself – at a banquet on September 21, hosted by The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Sports Communication & Media and emceed by Mary Carillo of NBC Sports.
Kindred, a beloved fixture in the sportswriting community, will be honored with the Jenkins Medal for Lifetime Achievement in sportswriting. Kindred has been a sportswriter across seven decades. He has written 11 books. He has been a columnist at the Louisville Courier-Journal, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Golf Digest. He is a winner of the Associated Press Sports Editors Red Smith Award and the ESPN/PEN America award for Lifetime Achievement in Literary Sportswriting. A native of Atlanta, IL Kindred is a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University.
Ballard, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, will be awarded the Jenkins Medal for Best Sportswriting of 2017 for his profile of NBA coach Monty Williams. Ballard’s winning article topped a field of 13 writers shortlisted as candidates for Jenkins Medal for Best Sportswriting. He was also a finalist for the inaugural Jenkins Medal for Best Sportswriting.
In addition to his work at SI, Ballard is a lecturer at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and the author of four books, most recently “One Shot at Forever”. He has written for The New York Times Magazine and his work has been anthologized in The Best American Magazine Writing and The Best American Sports Writing. He is a National Magazine Award finalist and six of his stories have been optioned for film. He writes features, columns, and longform stories for Sports Illustrated. After attending Pomona College, he received a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University.
