USA TODAY'S WIEBERGELECTED TO USBWA HALL OF FAME

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) USA Today sportswriter Steve Wieberg has been elected to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame for 2008.


Wieberg becomes the 50th member of the USBWA Hall of Fame, first established in 1988 to honor members for their achievements in sports journalism and contributions to the USBWA.


Wieberg will be inducted into the USBWA Hall of Fame on April 4, at the annual USBWA awards breakfast held in conjunction with this year's NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.


Wieberg has been at USA Today since being part of the original startup staff in 1982. His primary responsibilities include coverage of college sports, in particular football, basketball and rules governing the NCAA. He has covered every NCAA men's Final Four since 1983 and also covered six Summer and Winter Olympics.


He served as president of the USBWA in 1996-97 and has won seven writing contest awards from the USBWA, six from the Associated Press Sports Editors and three from the Football Writers Association.


He was named by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the "10 Most Powerful People in College Sports" in October 2007 and selected by College Sports magazine as one of the "50 Most Influential People in College Sports" in 1995 and '96.


Before USA Today, Wieberg was a sports reporter and Sunday sports editor at the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader from 1981-82 and previously worked five years at the Mexico (Mo.) Ledger.


A graduate of the University of Missouri Steve and his wife Paula have three children: Michael, a senior at Truman State; Eric, a senior at Kansas; and Katie, a sophomore at Missouri.


The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. Today, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its awards, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-421-0339.


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USBWA Hall of Fame