CSCM has announced 12 articles (by 14 writers) as nominees for Best Sportswriting of the year for the sixth iteration of the Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportswriting. The awards are presented annually in honor of the legendary Texas sportswriter and best-selling author, who defined the sportswriter’s craft for a generation.

The Jenkins Medal is awarded in two categories:

• The Dan Jenkins Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Sportswriting Award
• The Dan Jenkins Medal for Best Sportswriting Award

The Best Sportswriting award cites accomplishment for a single piece published in the previous calendar year (2021). Both awards accompany a cash prize. The nominees for the 2022 Best Sportswriting category are:

• Sam Anderson, “Kevin Durant and (Possibly) the Greatest Basketball Team of All Time,” June 2, 2021, New York Times
• Kent Babb, “After the Violence in Football City, USA,” May 17, 2021, Washington Post
• Katie Barnes, “The Power of Layshia Clarendon,” June 24, 2021, ESPN.com
• Camonghne Felix, “Simone Biles Chose Herself,” September 27, 2021, The Cut,
• Thomas Fuller, “Underdog No More, a Deaf Football Team Takes California by Storm,” November 15, 2021, New York Times
• Sally Jenkins, “Nobody Believes Urban Meyer. That’s Why He’s Failing,” December 14, 2021, Washington Post
• Caoimhe O’Neill, “This Is What You Endure Watching England as a Woman,” July 14, 2021, The Athletic
• Jeff Passan, “San Francisco Giants Outfield Drew Robinson’s Remarkable Second Act,” May 11, 2021, ESPN.com
• Steve Politi, “The Search for New Jersey’s Lost Basketball Legend,” May 19, 2021, NJ.com,
• Louisa Thomas, “Hou Yifan and the Wait for Chess’s First Woman World Champion,” July 26, 2021, The New Yorker
• Don Van Natta, Jr. and Seth Wickersham, “The Inside Story of How the NFL Got a 17^th Game, from Union Boss DeMaurice Smith,” February 23, 2021, ESPN.com,
• Wufei Yu and Will Ford, “172 Runners Started This Ultramarathon. 21 of Them Never Came Back,” October 15, 2021, Runner’s World

"Sports reflect the full spectrum of the human experience, which is made clear by this year's outstanding nominees” said Dr. Michael Butterworth, director of the Center for Sports Communication & Media. “Looking back at these defining stories from 2021, we see moments of devastation and inspiration, behind-the-scenes insights about the past and glimpses into the future, and reflections on the ongoing contests over identity and power. These 12 pieces are a testament to sports as a source of joy, loss, struggle, and redemption, and they beautifully represent the art of sportswriting symbolized by the legacy of Dan Jenkins."

Final voting for Best Sportswriting award will be conducted by a jury of sportswriters that include co-chairs Sally Jenkins and Michael MacCambridge and committee members Kevin Blackistone, Kirk Bohls, Bryan Curtis, Melanie Hauser, Jackie MacMullan, Kathleen McElroy, Wright Thompson, Grant Wahl and Alexander Wolff.

The voting for lifetime achievement in sportswriting will be conducted by the co-chairs Jenkins and MacCambridge with a committee that includes Karen Crouse, Chuck Culpepper, Gerald Early, Vahe Gregorian, Will Leitch, Joe Posnanski, Steve Rushin, John A. Walsh and Seth Wickersham. Nominees for the lifetime achievement award are not made public.

The 2022 Lifetime Achievement and Best Sportswriting winners will be announced in the coming month. CSCM will host an in-person dinner on September 23 in Austin to celebrate this year’s the winners and those from the previous two years, whose awards dinners have been canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The upcoming dinner will also feature the 2022 Jenkins Medal Sports Legend, who will be announced soon.

For more information, please visit www.jenkinsmedal.com.