CONGRATULATIONS 2024 SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNERS!
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2024 SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
FULL BOOK TITLE: FIERCE: My Fight for Nothing Less
AUTHOR NAME: Marian E. Washington and Vicki L. Friedman
PUBLISHER NAME: Ascend Books
In 2022 The Washington Post called her the Jackie Robinson of collegiate women’s basketball coaching. Now Marian E. Washington shares her compelling life story, tracing her humble roots in rural Pennsylvania to the unprecedented legacy she left for the advancement of women’s athletics and African American women.Washington became the first female African American head coach at a predominantly White institution at the Division I level when the University of Kansas hired her in 1973. A year later she was named KU’s first women’s athletics director. Over 31 years she coached Kansas women’s basketball to 560 wins, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and two Sweet Sixteens.But her legacy is the battle she waged for equity inside the walls of her own institution and nationally, becoming a trailblazer for a host of successful Division I Black female coaches. In 1996 she became the first Black woman to coach on a U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team staff, serving as an assistant coach on the USA’s gold medal-winning team.Washington was the first female President of the Black Coaches Association. She is enshrined in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and is a finalist on the Ballot for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. FIERCE is her story.
2024 SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
VICKI L. FRIEDMAN
Vicki L. Friedman is an award-winning writer and editor. Her experience includes more than two decades as a print journalist and 10 years as a contributor to espnW.
Vicki earned a top three finish for feature writing in the 2008 Associated Press Sports Editors Awards and the WBCA’s Mel Greenberg Media Award. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from The George Washington University and holds a Master of Arts in Journalism from the University of Missouri.
Vicki is the proud mother to sons Harry and Ben Holtzclaw and four dogs, including her AKC Master Agility Japanese chin, Romeo.
MARIAN E. WASHINGTON
Marian Elizabeth Washington was fierce in her fight to achieve equity and excellence for female athletes. In 1973, Marian became the first African American woman to coach basketball at a predominantly white institution when she was hired by the University of Kansas. One year later, Marian became the first Athletic Director for Women’s Sports at Kansas. Marian coached 31 years at Kansas, amassed 560 career victories and coached four All-Americans, including Lynette Woodard. In 2021 Kansas Athletics unveiled the Marian E. Washington Women’s Basketball Suite.
Marian is enshrined in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and has twice been a finalist for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She has one daughter, Josie; two grandchildren, Lauren and Ricardo; and two great-grandchildren, Cameron and Carter. Marian lives in St. Augustine, Florida with her Chihuahua, Bella.
Follow her @mewashington31 and visit her website, marianewashington.com.
2024 SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR RUNNER UPS
FULL BOOK TITLE: All in Stride: A Journey in Running, Courage, and the Search for the American Dream
AUTHOR NAME: Johanna Garton
PUBLISHER NAME: Rowman & Littlefield
FULL BOOK TITLE: The Frontrunner
AUTHOR NAME: Brad Fawley
PUBLISHER NAME: Green Writers Press
FULL BOOK TITLE: Naked Iron: An Improbable Quest in the Sport of Triathlon
AUTHOR NAME: Craig Ohlau
PUBLISHER NAME: Craig Ohlau
FULL BOOK TITLE: Ara: The Life and Legacy of a Notre Dame Legend
AUTHOR NAME: Mark O. Hubbard
PUBLISHER NAME: University of Notre Dame Press
2025 Sports Bo0k of the Year
$39.00
A single entry qualifies a book for the title of
"SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR"
$39 per title
Deadline to Enter--October 26th
