The USBWA Most Courageous Awards are two annual basketball awards given by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) to figures associated with college basketball who, according to the organization, have "demonstrated extraordinary courage reflecting honor on the sport of amateur basketball." Since 2012, the women's version of the award has been named the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award in honor of the legendary Tennessee women's coach who received the award that year. Effective with the 2021 awards, the men's version is known as the Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award in honor of the Vanderbilt player who was the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference.
History and selection The award was first presented in 1978, and was not initially restricted exclusively to college basketball, although every winner since 1980 has been associated with the college game in some manner. Through 2009, a single award was presented; starting in 2010, separate awards have been given for men's and women's college basketball. More than one individual can receive an award, with the most recent example being in 2023, when the men's award was presented to players Terrence Hargrove of Saint Louis and Connor Odom of Utah State. Traditionally, the winners receive their awards at the men's or women's Final Four (as applicable), although the awards can be presented earlier as circumstances dictate. The most notable exception was when the 2015 Summitt Award was presented to Lauren Hill at halftime of her first college game in November 2014, presumably so she would receive the award while alive (at the time, she was not expected to survive until the 2015 Final Four). Only the men's award was presented in 2021, but both awards were again presented in 2022.
Most honorees have been cited for courage as current or former college players. However, the list of recipients also includes coaches, the wife of a coach, two broadcasters, a referee, an athletic program staffer, the widow of a former player (recognized alongside her late husband), and three college basketball programs.
The award's bifurcation by sex or gender is not based on that of the recipient, but rather on whether the recipient was connected to the men's or women's game. In 2019, a woman received the men's award and a man received the women's award.
Winners All affiliations listed were current at the time the award was presented. The "Notes" column indicates the situation that led the USBWA to present the award.
Single award (1978–2009) All winners during this period were associated with men's basketball unless noted otherwise. + Year Recipient Affiliation Role Notes 1978 William & Mary Player Cancer patient 1979 Batesville High School (Indiana) Player Played despite having only one arm 1980 Niagara Player Cancer patient 1981 LSU Player Cancer patient 1982 Bowling Green Player Overcame "tremendous personal and physical problems" 1983 Western Carolina Player Overcame serious complications of injuries in an auto accident 1984 Pittsburgh Assistant coach Rescued an elderly couple from a home fire 1985 Army Player Overcame a life-threatening illness 1986 Jacksonville Head coach Recovered from emergency brain aneurysm surgery 1987 Notre Dame Player Recovered from serious injuries in an auto accident 1988 Arizona Player Overcame the murder of his father during his college career 1989 Indiana Former player Played wheelchair basketball after being paralyzed in an auto accident 1990 UMass Player Went from homelessness to a Division I scholarship 1991 Providence Player Returned from an irregular heartbeat and many injuries 1992 Referee Officiated college games while battling cancer for 13 years 1993 ESPN Broadcaster and former coach (Iona, NC State) Battled bone cancer 1994 Pittsburgh Player Survived childhood in a difficult New York City neighborhood, including being shot in the head 1995 Arkansas Head coach Overcame racial prejudice and the cancer death of his daughter during his career 1996 Marymount (women's) Player Returned to play a year after receiving a liver transplant 1997 Auburn Player Recovered from surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his arm 1998 Seton Hall Player Went from war-torn Liberia to Division I basketball 1999 Florida Player Played despite having only one eye since a middle school accident 2000 Oral Roberts Player Started despite losing the index finger of his shooting hand in an auto accident 2001 Entire program Oklahoma State Program Dealt with the aftermath of a plane crash that killed 10 team members 2002 South Carolina Player Played successfully despite 80% hearing loss 2003 Virginia Tech (women's) Former player Survived an infection that led to the amputation of parts of all four limbs after her freshman season 2004 Marquette Assistant coach Coached despite suffering from a lung disease that eventually required a double lung transplant 2005 Western Washington Player Played successfully despite having full use of only one arm 2006 Tennessee Tech Head coach Continued to coach despite Guillain–Barré syndrome 2007 Entire program Duquesne Program Dealt with the aftermath of a summer 2006 shooting that left five players injured 2008 LSU–Shreveport Player Returned from a major neck injury suffered during a November 2006 game 2009 San Diego State Player Played while undergoing treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma
Men's award (2010–present) Year Recipient Affiliation Role Notes 2010 BYU Head coach Returned from a battle with pancreatic cancer 2011 Rice Player First Iranian-born Division I player, despite often-troubled U.S.–Iran relations 2012 Florida State Player Went from high school dropout to military veteran to Division I player 2013 Boston College Sports information director Continued to work despite suffering from ALS 2014 Penn Player Went from war-torn South Sudan to the Ivy League Akron Director of basketball operations Worked while battling pancreatic cancer 2015 Michigan Player Survivor of two plane crashes that killed the rest of his immediate family, the second of which left him in a coma for two months 2016 Butler Former player and his widow Battled what proved to be fatal non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia, and publicized need for bone marrow donors 2017 Wisconsin Player Social activism surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline protests 2018 Idaho State PlayerLeft homeless at age 13 due to his parents' addictions; also one of the shortest Division I men's players at 5'7"/1.70 m 2019 Northeastern State Wife of coach Donated a kidney to former Division I men's coach Billy Gillispie, whom she had never met before the surgery 2020 New Jersey City Player Went from a childhood spent in roughly 50 foster homes to an NCAA Division III All-American 2021 Bluefield Rams Bluefield College Team Protesting racial injustice, knelt before the national anthem before a game in defiance of orders from the college president 2022 Washington University in St. Louis Players Both averaged double figures in scoring for their respective teams while battling cancer (stomach cancer for Hardy, leukemia for Jones) Texas 2023 Saint Louis Players Extensively advocated for players' mental health after personally experiencing mental health issues (depression for Hargrove, severe anxiety and OCD for Odom) Utah State 2024 Fisk Player Went from homelessness in high school to college basketball
Women's award (2010–present) + Year Recipient Affiliation Role Notes 2010 Farmingdale State Player Believed to be the smallest college player ever (4'6"/1.37 m); survived premature birth, blind in one eye, more than 50% hearing loss, severe scoliosis 2011 Memphis Player Believed to be the first Division I women's player to wear Islamic coverings while playing 2012 Tennessee Head coach Publicly announced her diagnosis with early-onset dementia, and continued to coach in the 2011–12 season 2013 Oakland Head coach Publicly acknowledged being a victim of child sexual abuse by her father 2014 Westmont Head coach Dealt with the unexpected death of her husband shortly before giving birth 2015 Mount St. Joseph Player Played while battling what proved to be a fatal brain tumor 2016 Kent State Head coach Survivor of stage 2 lymphoma 2017 Appalachian State Head coach Continued to coach while undergoing treatment for stage 3 endometrial cancer ESPN Broadcaster Continued to cover basketball while undergoing treatment for desmoplastic melanoma2018 Saint Joseph's PlayerSidelined two seasons after suffering a stroke as a freshman at Saint Joseph's in 2014; returned to active playing duty in 2017–18 2019 Hampton Head coach Continued as head coach in 2018–19 despite suffering a stroke in the 2018 offseason 2020 Baylor Players Sisters who played while dealing with type 1 diabetes, with the older Lauren playing at an All-American level Lubbock Christian 2021 Not presented 2022 Northeastern Player First-team all-conference player despite having undergone more than a dozen surgeries for a cleft lip, cleft palate, and multiple heart issues 2023 Little Rock Player Survived childhood physical abuse and multiple suicide attempts to establish a foundation that helps youth dealing with abuse 2024 Southern Miss Coach Continued as head coach despite a third diagnosis of lung cancer
References General Winners through 2011:
Specific
External links Official site