The Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism was established in 2002 to honor the memory of one of Americas pre-eminent sports writers, Dick Schaap

Dick Schaap

Richard Jay Schaap was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author.-Early life and education:...

. The award is presented by the Nassau County Sports Commission

Nassau County Sports Commission

-Mission:The Nassau County Sports Commission is a non-profit, 501 organization created to enhance the quality of life of Nassau County, New York, residents through the promotion of physical fitness, healthy activity and positive sportsmanship to combat childhood obesity and performance enhancing...

 and is given out to the journalist, in any medium, that best exemplifies the principles and talents of Dick Schaap during the past year. The award recipient is determined by confidential balloting of the Dick Schaap Selection Committee, which is composed of respected members of the media, and chaired by Dick's son, ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

 reporter Jeremy Schaap

Jeremy Schaap

Jeremy Schaap is an American sportswriter, television reporter, and author. Schaap is a six-time Emmy Award winner for his work on ESPN's E:60, SportsCenter, and Outside the Lines.-Biography:...

.

Although the recipient need not be a sports journalist

Sports journalism

Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events.While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports...

, he/she must convey the passion and insight for the stories and people he/she covers as Schaap did.

Dick Schaap Award Recipients

• 2002 - Jim McKay
  Jim McKay
  James Kenneth McManus , better known by his professional name of Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist....
  
  , ABC Sports
• 2003 - Frank Deford
  Frank Deford
  Benjamin "Frank" Deford, III is a senior contributing writer for Sports Illustrated, author, and commentator for National Public Radio and correspondent for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO....
  
  , Sports Illustrated
  Sports Illustrated
  Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
  
  
• 2004 - Bob Costas
  Bob Costas
  Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
  
  , NBC
  NBC
  The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
  
   & HBO Sports
• 2005 - Dave Anderson
  Dave Anderson (sportswriter)
  Dave Anderson is an American sportswriter based in New York City. After graduating in 1947 from Xavier High School - an elite Jesuit preparatory school in New York City - Anderson attended the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, graduating in 1951.Anderson has written for a number of New...
  
  , New York Times
• 2006 - Bob Ryan
  Bob Ryan
  Bob Ryan is an American sportswriter for The Boston Globe. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston...
  
  , Boston Globe
• 2007 - Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada
  Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada
  Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada co-authored the book Game of Shadows while they were reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle...
  
  , San Francisco Chronicle
  San Francisco Chronicle
  thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
  
  
• 2008 - Mitch Albom
  Mitch Albom
  Mitchell David "Mitch" Albom is an American best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, dramatist, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide...
  
  , Detroit Free Press
  Detroit Free Press
  The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
  
  
• 2009 - No Recipient
• 2010 - Mary Carillo
  Mary Carillo
  Mary Carillo is an American sportscaster and former professional tennis player.-Tennis career:Carillo played on the women's professional tennis circuit from 1977 to 1980. She was ranked as high as number 33, in the WTA Rankings, from January through March 1980, then retired due to knee injuries...
  
  , NBC
  NBC
  The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
  
   & HBO Sports