2023 Full Court Press
"Full Court Press," the 22nd annual U.S. Basketball Writers Association sports writing seminar and scholarship competition, will take place on Friday, March 31 on site at the Men's Final Four in Houston with a series of exclusive experiences for undergraduate and graduate college students with an interest in sports journalism.
The program will begin with a panel discussion in Breakout Room 2 of NRG Stadium from 8:45 to 10 a.m. CDT. Panelists will be announced shortly.
The panelists are Chuck Culpepper from the Washington Post, Pat Forde from Sports Illustrated and The Athletic's Dana O'Neil.
The free event provides students with an opportunity to cover the NCAA Final Four the day before the national semifinals. There will be exclusive access to the coaches and at least one player from each participating team.
Students can enter a competition for scholarships up to $1,500 in honor of the late Larry Donald, the only two-time USBWA president and the founding editor of Basketball Times.
The panel discussion will involve leading reporters in the industry. The panelists will discuss topics such as the influence of social media, the state of the job market, navigational skills in a 24/7 digital era and survival tactics to deal with increasingly challenging deadlines.
The free seminar is organized by the Sports Capital Journalism Program at IUPUI and will be moderated by its director, USBWA executive director Malcolm Moran.
There is limited space available, so early registration is strongly encouraged. Applications will be processed in the order they are received. A wait list will be created when available spots are taken.
If you have any questions about registration or the event itself, please feel free to contact us.
Full Court Press Sports Writing Seminar and Scholarship Program: How To File Your Story
Each student may submit one story for consideration for scholarships of $1,500, $750 and $500.
All entries must be submitted no later than 12 p.m. (ET) on Monday, April 3. The USBWA will select the scholarship winners. The winners will be notified and the decisions will be announced on the USBWA website on or before May 1.
Stories should be submitted via email to ted@collegepressbox.coom.
“Full Court Press Scholarship” should appear in the subject line of the email.
In the top left corner of the first page of your story, please include the following information:
- First and last name
- School
- Postal mailing address
- Cell phone number
- Word count for your story
- The event you chose to cover
Please note: Entries that do not follow these instructions will not be eligible for consideration.
Each student may enter a story about the press conferences. The story must be related to one of the press conferences.
Stories should be no less than 700 and no more than 750 words. Stories should be written as hard news or news features.
Please operate on the assumption that your story would appear in a Saturday print edition or late Friday on a website, before the semifinal games are played.
Your participation in this event indicates your permission for the USBWA to use your work on its website and in promotional materials. Good luck!
The Larry Donald Memorial Sports Writing Scholarships
Larry Donald was the editor and the man most identifiable with Basketball Times. He passed away unexpectedly in the late fall of 2000. It is in his memory that the scholarships are dedicated.
Originally from Deshler, Ohio, Larry loved three things: watching basketball, playing golf and writing about both. Larry was president of the USBWA for two terms (1986-87 and 1987-88); a member of the Association’s Hall of Fame; a winner of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Curt Gowdy Print Media Award, the highest award the Hall confers on the media short of enshrinement; the winner of over 20 USBWA writing awards; and a veteran of more than 25 Final Fours.
Larry was called “the father of us all,” by long-time friend and colleague Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe. Indeed, with his own distinguished work and that of some of America’s finest writers – including Ryan, Charlie Pierce and John Feinstein – Larry was able to create a publication that catered to a loyal, dedicated following.
When Larry passed away, the visitors, friends and associates who extended sympathies read like a modern-day “Who’s who of basketball.” It is with Larry’s good humor, his passion for writing and his wonderful gift for storytelling that we continue the vision he laid out in more than 30-plus years of dedication and love of the game.