Past Events

The Caitlin Clark Effect and the Future of Women's Sports 
March 26, 2024

The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism hosted “The Caitlin Clark Effect and the Future of Women's Sports,” an in-person discussion of the growing audience for women's sports and barriers yet to be broken.

The panelists were LaToya Sanders (associate head coach, Washington Mystics), Roxanna Scott (executive editor and vice president/sports, USA Today), Briana Scurry (member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, two-time Olympic Gold medalist, member of the 1999 U.S. Women's World Cup Soccer Champions) and Jason Murray (sports editor, Washington Post). The panel was moderated by Christine Brennan, national sports columnist for USA Today and commentator for CNN, ABC News, PBS NewsHour.

The Rise of the Black Quarterback 
Oct. 19, 2023

The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism held a discussion on "The Rise of the Black Quarterback" on Thursday, Oct. 19 at Knight Hall. For decades, quarterback was a whites-only position in the NFL, the panelists discussed how that's changed and why.

The panelists were John Eisenberg (former columnist for The Baltimore Sun and BaltimoreRavens.com), Michael Locksley (head coach of the UMD football team), Jason Reid (senior writer for ESPN), David Steele '85 (longtime sports journalist) and Doug Williams (senior advisor to the Washington Commanders president and the first Black quarterback to play in a Super Bowl). The panel was moderated by Jerry Bembry (senior writer for ESPN's Andscape).

The NIL Experiment: A Povich Center Panel in New York
April 28, 2022

On April 28, 2022, The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism held a conversation at Overtime in NYC about how athletes, universities, sponsors and the NCAA are navigating name, image and likeness (NIL) rules. The panelists were Bill Carter (Bill Carter, Principal of Student-Athlete Insights; Adjunct Professor of "Name, Image, Likeness" at the University of Vermont), Len Elmore '74 (Professor of Sport Management, Lawyer, Analyst, Former Athlete, Co-Chair of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics), Monica McNutt '13 (ESPN Basketball Analyst and Reporter) and Dan Porter (Co-Founder and CEO, Overtime). The panel was moderated by Mark Hyman, Director, Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism

Unlevel Playing Fields: Title IX at 50
April 14, 2022

The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism held a virtual conversation centering on "Unlevel Playing Fields," a four-month investigation into Title IX and high school sports that the Povich Center conducted in partnership with the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.

The panelists were Tim Leary, teacher, Rancho Buena Vista High School (Vista, California); Angela Morgan, former softball booster club president, Stillwater High School (Stillwater, Oklahoma); Madyson Roach, former softball player at Grant High School (Portland, Oregon); Kim Turner, Director of the Gender Equity Initiative, Coaching Corps; and Emily Riley, student reporter, Merrill College, Title IX Project. The panel was moderated by Shannon Scovel, Merrill College Ph.D. candidate, who worked on the project.

A Conversation with Tim Kurkjian and Scott Van Pelt
March 3, 2022
ESPN personalities Tim Kurkjian and Scott Van Pelt discuss the status of the upcoming Major League Baseball season and Kurkjian’s impending induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Unseen Stories: Covering mental health in sports today
Oct. 14, 2021 (held online due to COVID-19) 
The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism hosted a virtual panel on covering mental health in sports, featuring Jerry Bembry (Senior Writer, The Undefeated), Peter Carlisle (Managing Director, Octagon Worldwide), Paul Daugherty (Sports Columnist, Cincinnati Enquirer), Amber Theoharis '00 (Journalist, Filmmaker, Producer) and Katie Uhlaender (Four-time Olympic Skeleton Racer). Bonnie Bernstein '92 moderate the panel.

Whistleblowers
April 29, 2021 (held online due to COVID-19) 
The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism held a virtual discussion on "Whistleblowers," featuring sources who step forward and the sports journalists who tell their stories. The panel featured Nancy Armour (Sports Columnist, USA Today), Lisa Banks (Partner, Katz, Marshall and Banks), Melanie Coburn (Former Cheerleader and Marketing Director, Washington Football Team), Brittany Ghiroli (National MLB Senior Writer, The Athletic) and Beth Reinhard (Investigative Reporter, Washington Post). The event was moderated by Merrill College Professor of the Practice Kevin Blackistone. 

Fans in the Stands
April 9, 2021 (held online due to COVID-19) 
The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism held a virtual discussion about the Povich Center's first sports and politics poll with UMD’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement and The Washington Post. The panel featured Michael Hanmer (Research Director, CDCE), Rick Maese (Reporter, The Washington Post) and Stella Rouse (Director, CDCE). The event was moderated by Povich Center Director Mark Hyman, the inaugural George Solomon Chair in Sports Journalism at Merrill College.

College Coaching After Title IX: Why Fewer Women's Teams Are Coached by Women
March 2, 2021 (held online due to COVID-19) 
The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism held a virtual discussion of "College Coaching After Title IX," where panelists discussed why fewer women's teams are coached by women. The all-star panel consisted of USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, UMD women's basketball coach Brenda Frese, former UMD/WNBA player Crystal Langhorne '08 and ESPN/Big Ten Network basketball analyst Christy Winters-Scott '90.

The New Normal: What Will Sports Media Look Like After the Pandemic
Feb. 18, 2021 (held online due to COVID-19) 
The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism held a virtual discussion of “The New Normal,” exploring what sports coverage will look like after the pandemic. The panel featured Kevin Blackistone (Merrill College Professor of the Practice), Roxanna Scott (USA Today managing editor for sports), Ben Strauss (Washington Post sports and media reporter) and Scott Van Pelt (SportsCenter and ESPN host). The event was moderated by Jimmy Roberts, sportscaster for NBC Sports.

World Series Rewind
Dec. 8, 2020 (held online due to COVID-19) 
The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism held a virtual discussion of the 2020 World Series. The two former Maryland baseball players who faced each other in the Fall Classic -- Tampa Bay Rays star Brandon Lowe and Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Adam Kolarek -- joined Merrill alumnus and ESPN baseball writer/analyst Tim Kurkjian '78 on the panel. The event was moderated by Povich Center Director Mark Hyman.

Leveling the Field: Why Black Head Coaches Are Underrepresented in Football
Oct. 20, 2020 (held online due to COVID-19) 
The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism held a virtual panel on the underrepresentation of Black head coaches in college football and the NFL. The panelists were University of Maryland head football coach Mike Locksley, Fritz Pollard Alliance cofounder Cyrus Mehri and sports law expert Jeremi Duru. The event was moderated by Professor of the Practice Kevin Blackistone.

Unwelcome Overtures: Inside The Post’s Washington Football Team Investigation 
Sept. 22, 2020 (held online due to COVID-19) 
Povich Center director Mark Hyman spoke with members of the The Washington Post reporting team that broke the story surrounding alleged harassment inside the Washington Football Team organization. The panelists were reporter Liz Clarke, reporter Will Hobson and editor Matt Rennie.
 

A Conversation with Scott Van Pelt and Damon Evans
May 13, 2020 (held online due to COVID-19) 
Povich Center director George Solomon spoke with UMD alumnus and ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt and UMD athletic director Damon Evans.

The Impact Of COVID-19 On Sports
April 1, 2020 (held online due to COVID-19) 
The first online Povich Panel featured an all-alumni set of panelists -- Bonnie Bernstein, Frank Isola, Daniel Oyefusi and Jimmy Roberts -- and was moderated by Professor Kevin Blackistone.

More Events:

Newspapers and Sports Departments: What is the Future?
March 4, 2020 
With negative stories documenting the decline of the newspaper business, the Povich Center assembled a panel of experts to discuss the future of the industry. The panel featured Sam Davis, Managing Editor of The Baltimore Sun; Adrianne Flynn, Director of Internships and Career Development at Merrill College; Tim Rosenstiel, Founder of the Project for Excellence in Journalism; Gene Policinski, Chief Operating Officer of the Freedom Forum; and Matt Vita, Sports Editor of The Washington Post. 

Stealing Signs: The Scandal Rocking Baseball
Feb. 5, 2020
Povich Center director George Solomon spoke with a panel of baseball experts about sign stealing. The panel featured Tim Kurkjian (ESPN), Greg Lee (The Athletic) Jane Leavy (baseball biographer), Kevin Blackistone (Merrill College, ESPN, The Washington Post) and John Ourand (Sports Business Journal)

The Great American Sports Page
Dec. 7, 2019 held at The Newseum in Washington D.C.
A number of the nation’s top sports writers, columnists and editors gathered to discuss great sports journalists of past and present. Panelists included: Tom Boswell, columnist for The Washington Post; David Kindred, contributing writer for Sports on Earth; Jane Leavy, sportswriter and author; Kevin Merida, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of The Undefeated; John Schulian, former columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, screenwriter and editor of “The Great American Sports Page: A Century of Classic Columns;” and Ava Wallace, college sports writer for The Washington Post. WATCH

Esports & Sports Gambling: New Ground to Cover
Oct. 3, 2019
Esports and legalized sports gambling are two of the fastest-growing areas in sports media. As journalists are confronted with learning the ins and outs of both, the Povich Center convened a panel to discuss what the future holds for these new points of interest. The panel featured: journalist Margaret Engel, Washington Post esports editor Mike Hume, president & CEO of Lead1 Association Tom McMillen, SiriusXM producer Noah Niederhoffer and president of UMCP gaming Joel Yoo. 

Talking Baseball
Feb. 4, 2019
Before pitchers, catchers and reporters head to spring training, some of the best in the business joined the Povich Center. The panel featured: ESPN baseball analyst and Maryland alum Tim Kurkjian, Baltimore Sun Orioles beat reporter Jon Meoli and best-selling author Jane Leavy.