Center for Sports Communication & Media

2023 Jenkins Medal winners

Tom Junod, Paula Lavigne and William C. Rhoden are winners of the seventh annual Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportswriting. Junod and Lavigne win the Jenkins Medal for Best Sportswriting (of 2022) for their ESPN article "Untold". Rhoden wins for his body of work (spanning over 50 years) as an author, "Sports of the Times" columnist for The New York Times and currently as columnist and editor-at-large for Andscape (formerly The Undefeated). All will be honored at the Jenkins Medal award ceremony in Austin on October 13.

2023 Jenkins Medal finalists

CSCM has announced 12 articles (by 14 writers) as nominees for Best Sportswriting of the year for the seventh 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.

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Sports communication students from the University of Alabama and the University of Texas at Austin will continue their collaboration around the Alabama/Texas football game in September 2023. Last fall, four students from Tuscaloosa traveled with Alabama Program in Sports Communication faculty to Austin to collaborate with Texas students on writing and video projects to document the activity surrounding the early season game between the two legendary football programs. This activity was supported by the College Football Writer's Association. For 2023, CSCM director Michael Butterworth and Associate Director Kevin Robbins will travel with four UT students to Alabama as APSC will facilitate the student exchange for documentation and content production related to the game in Tuscaloosa.

Second Annual Politics in Sports Media report

The Center for Sports Communication & Media (CSCM) is proud to announce its second annual report, “Politics in Sports Media.” This comprehensive study of sports media content in the United States captures a range of audience perceptions and details critical issues in sports media.

The report’s research team includes 11 faculty members and graduate students from the Moody College of Communication. The team was led by Dr. Natalie Brown-Devlin, Dr. Jennifer McClearen, and CSCM director, Dr. Michael L. Butterworth. “Politics in Sports Media” defines “politics” broadly to include references to campaigns, elected officials, and legislation as well as matters of power, resources, and equity. The relationship between sports and politics is neither new nor temporary and CSCM plans to issue this report each January.

The Frank Deford Lecture in Sports Journalism

The Center for Sports Communication and Media hosts the Frank Deford Lecture in Sports Journalism every April on the UT-Austin campus to hear leading professionals address the pressing cultural issues of the day. Named after the iconic journalist who left substantial bodies of work in print, radio and television at the time of his death in 2017, the Deford Lecture offers Moody College students access to the leading sports journalists of the day.

The Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportswriting

The Center for Sports Communication and Media hosts the Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportswriting as a celebration of the craft and history of sportswriting. Named in honor of the legendary Texan and one of the most accomplished sportwriters of his generation, the Jenkins Medal is awarded annually at a dinner every fall.