ATLANTA (March 8, 2022) — ESPN commentator Holly Rowe and longtime Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder sportswriter Charles Hallman are the recipients of the 2022 WBCA Mel Greenberg Media Awards, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced today.
Rowe is receiving the National Award which has been presented annually since 1991. Hallman is receiving a new Community Award that will be presented on a recurring basis to an individual who is a media ambassador for women’s and girls’ basketball on a local level in cities where the WBCA Convention, which is held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four, takes place.
“Holly Rowe and Charles Hallman have dedicated their professional careers to promoting women’s and girls’ basketball on the national and community levels respectively. Both have worked tirelessly to preserve, promote, and protect the priceless stories that make up our game’s historical record,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. “The WBCA is honored to present each of them the prestigious Mel Greenberg Media Award.”
“Anyone who doesn’t know Holly doesn’t watch sports. It is amazing how many different places she appears in a short span to serve as your personal guide to storytelling of coaches and players, pros and collegians,” said Greenberg, the preeminent name in women’s basketball coverage for whom the award is named, and who received the inaugural award in 1991. “And what a joy to honor Charles in his community with the new award two-fold as a Hall of Fame inductee from the USBWA and from the WBCA for his being your personal ambassador to years of coverage in the Twin Cities. He certainly fits the definition of what this tribute is meant to be.”
Rowe, who has covered women’s basketball for over 30 years, will work her 17th straight NCAA Women’s Final Four this year. She joined ESPN full time in August 1998 after appearing on select ESPN telecasts in 1997 and ABC Sports in 1995-96. Rowe also covers the WNBA for the network. Rowe previously provided play-by-play for women’s college basketball on Fox Sports from 1993 through 2003. She was also the analyst for the WNBA’s Utah Starzz until the franchise moved to San Antonio. Rowe served as the play-by-play voice for BYU women’s basketball from 1993-2009. Recently having completed treatment for Stage IV Metastatic Melanoma, Rowe has become a tireless advocate for cancer research and prevention.
Hallman is a longtime reporter for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder in Minneapolis, the oldest Black newspaper in the state. His coverage of women's basketball spans several decades from the prep level to college to the pros. He is the longest-tenured beat writer for the Minnesota Gophers, while also covering the Minnesota Lynx since the team's inception in the WNBA. A tireless supporter of girls and women in sports, Hallman frequently writes about overlooked and underrated Black female athletes. In 2021, the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport included him in a Title IX honor roll list that highlights individuals' contributions to women's athletics in Minnesota.
"To receive this award named for Mel Greenberg, a living legend and trailblazer in women's basketball, given by the WBCA, a long-respected organization, and along with another trailblazer in Holly Rowe, I have no words to express my gratitude. I am deeply honored and blessed to be in such rarefied company," said Hallman.
Named after Greenberg, the Philadelphia Inquirer sportswriter who founded the Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll, the award is presented annually to a member of the media or sports communications professional who has best displayed a commitment to women’s basketball and to advancing the role of the media in the women’s game. Selected by past recipients of the award, the candidate must have made a positive impact on the growth and public exposure — regional or national — of the sport, been involved in the media exposure of women’s basketball for a minimum of five years and should be a media ambassador for the women’s game.
Visit www.wbca.org/recognize/ to see a list of past recipients.
About the WBCA
For 40 years, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association has been the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. Founded in 1981, the WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to the organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit WBCA.org for more details about the association.
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