Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism

See the video of our recent panel discussion, "Remembering Shirley Povich."
View it on our event page.

With a lead gift from the family of Shirley Povich, legendary sports journalist and editor, the Philip Merrill College of Journalism is proud to announce the establishment of The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism.

Povich was an eyewitness to most significant sports events of the 20th century, and his fearless reporting took on questions of race, religion and gender. The Povich Center will lead a new generation of sports journalists to view and chronicle events in sports.

It will forge a path in sports journalism toward analyzing complex issues in athletics, to challenge and clarify society’s avid participation in games as players and spectators. The Center will mature into a resource where journalists, academics and the public come for discovery and discussion.

Donate Today

We invite you to support this effort with a financial contribution. Contributions support the work of the Center, including financial aid for students. For further information, please contact Anne Martens at (301)405-2420.

The Shirley Povich Center Program

The field of journalism has never been more competitive. And the Merrill College has never been better positioned as a leader in the field. We embrace multiplatform journalism—from print to broadcast and from the Web to mobile devices—yet remain committed to the fundamental knowledge, skills, values and ethics of this essential profession.

The Washington-Baltimore area is one of the nation’s liveliest sports markets, offering rich and diverse options for students interested in sports journalism. The Povich Center will serve Merrill students and professional journalists, as well as the university and greater community through its academic offerings, research and analysis.

The center will:

• Prepare sports journalism students for the challenges ahead through a range of courses in sports reporting and in the intersection of sports and culture. These courses are taught by respected and experienced faculty, including The Washington Post’s former longtime sports editor, George Solomon, and FanHouse.com’s Kevin Blackistone.
• Be a focal point for research and analysis. We will address such topics as the demands on young athletes; the pervasive use of performance-enhancing drugs and the meaning of fair competition; and the economics of sports, race and conflicts between labor and management.
• Continue the popular and influential Shirley Povich Sports Symposiums, which invite leading journalists and athletes to address current topics in sports.