Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: SMU Entry Title: Fashion Goals: Women's sports are more popular than ever. If Luxury fashion brands want to score with this growing fan base, they need to get in the game and sponsor women's teams. Entry Credit: Bo Rubenstein Judge Comment: This is clearly a topic the reporter is passionate about and it showed in the article. It was interesting, well-researched, flowed well and addressed a timely topic. The only thing that was missing was perspective from current athletes about the value and impact of high-end fashion sponsorships.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: UT-Arlington Entry Title: Students, alumni react as football referendum passes in Student Government election Entry Credit: Isaac Appelt Judge Comment: When reporting on a topic that has multiple layers, such as the history, obstacles and interest in restarting a football program, it's important to evaluate all of them. This reporter did well in their attempt to give a well-rounded perspective.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Baylor Entry Title: Baylor softball pushes for women's College World Series Entry Credit: Michael Haag Judge Comment: This was an very good season preview, painting a great picture of what the players were doing to get ready. The lede was particularly strong and interesting.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: University of North Texas Entry Title: Matthew Stone prepares for a larger role going into the new season Entry Credit: Hyunsung Na Judge Comment: A good player feature requires delving deeper into who an individual is and what motivates them, which is something this reporter did well. The high school elements, however, aren't as important as who the player is now.
Competition Comment: Many of the submissions for this category were simply rewriting what was said in press conferences or provided in press releases. While such straightforward stories have their place in daily sports reporting, the best work digs deeper and attempts to understand the trends and tell the stories of the individuals involved and impacted.
