The Shirley Povich Center For Sports Journalism

The center was made possible by a $1 million challenge gift from Shirley Povich’s children – Maury, Lynn and David – as well as support from other involved parties. 

Povich Center Study Abroad

NBA Africa (June 2024)

As part of the Povich Center's first international course, 10 students traveled to Africa to report on the efforts of the National Basketball Association to grow interest in the league and to develop talent across the world's second largest and second most populous continent.

Povich Center director Mark Hyman and broadcast production lecturer Nathan Stevens directed the reporting, which took the students from the Basketball Africa League championship in Kigali, Rwanda, to NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal.

The project produced both text and video stories as well as a documentary film directed and edited by students Jenna Bloom and Alexa Wootten. Check out the trailer for the film, "From Africa: Pathways to the NBA," below.

Povich Center Projects

Youth Tackle Football (February 2024)

In collaboration with Merrill College’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, the Povich Center published “Youth Tackle Football: Balancing risks and rewards depends on race and place” — a four-month investigation on how the risks and rewards of the sport are weighed.

Students interviewed dozens of parents, coaches, youth players, medical researchers and former pro football players, and the Povich and Howard centers worked with Ipsos to conduct an in-depth national public opinion poll of parents. That allowed them to put together a comprehensive illustration of how youth tackle football is viewed today.

The project was done in partnership with PBS NewsHour, which aired a Feb. 13 segment produced by Merrill College student journalists. The six-story project was also was distributed nationally by The Associated Press and featured on NPR's "All Things Considered" on Feb. 8.

Gambling on Campus (February 2023)

In collaboration with Merrill College’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, the Povich Center published “Gambling on Campus,” a wide-ranging investigation into universities and sports betting.

College students are in the highest risk group for problem gambling, yet the investigation shows universities have been slow to create policies, educational programs or restrictions on sports betting. That’s despite the aggressive expansion of sports gambling across the U.S. and abundant advertising at some college campuses.

The project was done in collaboration with PBS NewsHour, which aired two segments based on the reporting in the project. The Associated Press distributed the project nationally.

Unlevel Playing Fields (April 2022)

In collaboration with Merrill College’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, the Povich Center published “Unlevel Playing Fields,” an in-depth investigation into Title IX and high school sports as the landmark legislation celebrates its 50th anniversary in June. 

Title IX, which passed in 1972, is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination at any school that receives funding from the federal government, including in sports programs. While Title IX has led to a significant increase in girls playing scholastic sports, it has fallen short of achieving equity for high school girls in areas such as facilities, equipment, scheduling and publicity, the four-month, student-led investigation found.

The project was done in collaboration with PBS NewsHour, which aired a Title IX segment. The Associated Press, Just Women’s Sports and Word In Black published parts of the project.

Pushed Too Far (August 2021)

The first collaboration between the Povich Center and the Howard Center investigated the 22 Division I college football player deaths from exertion-related illnesses since 2000.

The primary causes of death for these incidents are sudden cardiac arrest, heatstroke and collapse from sickle-cell trait. The story explores the fact that football programs and coaches face few repercussions from institutions or the NCAA, even when they violate recommended safety precautions that might have prevented death. The story also examines measures taken by the NCAA to address the problem of exertional death.

The project -- reported by Professor of the Practice Kevin Blackistone’s Spring 2019 and Spring 2020 Sports Reporting and Writing classes, and master’s student Dan Novak -- was published by USA Today and by the Howard Center through Capital News Service.

Check out The Povich Center's original series, Still No Cheering in the Press Box, which explores the lives of legendary sports journalists — in their own words.

In Memoriam: John McNamara

1961-2018