GREENVILLE, N.C. (NCBWA) David Feaster, who has been chair of the Dick Howser Trophy committee for more than 25 years, has been named as the 41st winner of the Wilbur Snypp Award, presented annually by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for outstanding contributions to college baseball.
Feaster, who has been indefatigable in his support and enthusiasm for college baseball since his days as an undergraduate at the University of Florida, helped originate the Dick Howser Trophy, along with the late Bill Bunker and the St. Petersburg (Florida) Area Chamber of Commerce in 1987, shortly after the passing of the popular Howser, who starred at shortstop at Florida State and managed the Kansas City Royals to the 1985 World Series title.
In 1998, he was instrumental in keeping the Dick Howser Trophy as one of the most representative selection processes in the country with the addition of the NCBWA as the voting body for the Heisman Trophy of college baseball.
With the St. Petersburg Area Chamber and the Howser Trophy committee, he has been able to secure sponsorships with USA Today, Xanthus Corp. and the Eastons Foundation to assist with logistics and presentations of the national award annually at Omaha, Nebraska, in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Baseball World Series.
Coaches, administrators and news media consider him to be of the biggest national boosters of college baseball, while he also works countless hours as president of Cornerstone Bank based in St. Petersburg.
He has worked with the Governor's Dinner to salute baseball and Major League Baseball spring training in Florida and was on the original St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission, which helped bring the Big East/Big Ten Conference Baseball Challenge to that area in 2009.
Feaster, who grew up in the St. Petersburg area and was born at Vanderbilt Medical Center near famed Charles Hawkins Field the home of Vanderbilt Commodores baseball in Nashville, Tennessee, has devoted countless hours and travel to support the Howser Trophy and college baseball. Besides the announcement of the winner at Omaha, he has gone to the winner's campus and presented the trophy before thousands of fans at fall college football games and other gatherings. His travels in this capacity have taken him to Long Beach, California, to Clemson, South Carolina, to Waco, Texas, to Stillwater, Oklahoma, and points beyond.
"I am honored and appreciative to receive the 2015 Wilbur Snypp Award," Feaster said. "It has been a pleasure to work for many years with members of the NCBWA, and I have had the chance to meet and great some of the greatest student-athletes and players of great character in college baseball. Working with the Dick Howser Trophy committee has been a labor of love for many years."
"David Feaster is the epitome of what college baseball means to millions of people," said NCBWA executive director Bo Carter. "He has been a great partner with the NCBWA and has spent hundreds of his personal time and finances to support the great college game. He truly is a class act and has been a wonderful ambassador for baseball on all levels."
Feaster joins a sterling group of past Wilbur Snypp Award winners, national journalists and college administrators as the 2015 recipient. The plaque memorializes longtime Ohio State sports information director and NCBWA founder, the late Wilbur (Bill) Snypp. Snypp was a noted contributor to the writers' organization, which was initiated in 1962, as well as an officer in the group. The NCBWA/Wilbur Snypp Award yearly honors a professional for contributions to the sport of college baseball. Voting is conducted by a panel of previous winners, who include past NCAA College World Series directors, College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame members, decorated media members, and others.