DALLAS (FWAA) – Veteran Chris Low of ESPN.com and Texas A&M beat reporter Travis L. Brown have been named co-winners of the FWAA's Steve Ellis Beat Writer of the Year Award for the 2023 season, the association announced on Thursday.
The FWAA has named a Beat Writer of the Year since 2011 in honor of Ellis, long-time Tallahassee Democrat writer who passed away in 2009. Democrat sports editor Jim Henry once wrote of Ellis: "Nobody covered Florida State athletics with the passion and ferocity that Ellis did for 30 years."
Previous winners of the FWAA's Beat Writer Award: Doug Lesmerises of the Cleveland Plain Dealer; Mark Blaudschun of the Boston Globe and Steve Wieberg of USA Today); Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News; Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch; Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times; Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman; Mike Griffith of SEC Country; Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com and Chris Vannini of The Athletic; Brett McMurphy of Stadium Network; Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated; Dave Matter of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle; and Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News and Scott Dochterman of The Athletic.
The FWAA announces the recipients of the award after a committee reviews the nominations from the membership from the previous football season.
"This is the second straight year the FWAA has named two writers for the Steve Ellis Award during a single season," said FWAA Executive Director Steve Richardson. "Low dominated the SEC with his coverage, including breaking the stunning story of Alabama Coach Nick Saban retiring. Brown showed his overall versatility needed covering the Aggies, with his ability to churn out excellent features, columns, enterprise stories as well as do investigative stories and cover breaking news stories."
Both were flattered to be recognized by the FWAA.
"It still seems like a dream," Brown said. "When I began this journey of telling stories years ago, I thought attending big-time sporting events would be the best parts of my career," Brown said. "I never would have believed an historic organization like the FWAA would value my work to this degree. It is an honor to be selcted and absolutely one of the highlights of my career to win this award."
Low added: "I'm honored to be selected for this award and what a blessing it is to work with so many great teammates at ESPN. I'd also like to pay homage to all my former colleagues, bosses and mentors who opened the doors for me along the way and helped shape my career. One day, I will get a real job."
Brown is a three-time Celeste Williams Star Sportswriter of the Year award winner given by the Texas Managing Editors Association and frequent placer in that contest as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors annual contest (fourth nationally in beat coverage in 2023). Brown is a member of the FWAA's All-America Committee. Low has been a frequent placer in the FWAA Best Writing Contest over the years and a member of the Ed Ashcoff Rising Star Award Selection Panel.
Low is generally considered one of the top writers in college football and this past season he was churning out stories that led the pack on major developments in the SEC, including Kalen DeBoer going to Alabama. He broke the stories of several movements by big-time SEC assistant coaches, dates of big SEC Games, Georgia-Alabama and Georgia-Texas, and wrote several top-notch features on SEC players.
"Nick Saban's retirement was arguably the story of the college football off-season," one of the selectors said. "And Chris broke that story. He has consistently proven to be on top of the major news out of the SEC, which is his beat."
Low, was hired at ESPN in the summer of 2007, first as a reporter and is now a senior writer on college football. He is big on digital platforms and appears frequently on The Paul Finebaum Show, Sports Center, College Football Live and other programs. A native of Rock Hill, S.C., Low graduated from Tennessee and has been a one of the foremost authorities in the SEC for a number of years.
"I m grateful to still be doing what I love to do, going out and telling good stories, especially those stories that might inspire someone or maybe put a smile on someone's face who otherwise had a bad day or bad week," Low said. "Our industry has changed dramatically from my days of taking high school track and field results over the phone in Rock Hill, S.C. or covering Natrone Means when he was returning punts (yes, punts) as a high school sophomore at Central Cabarrus High School in Concord, N.C. in the late 1980s.
"What hasn't changed is our responsibility as journalists to be accurate, informed, fair and in tune with what it would be like to walk in the shoes of those people we're writing about in our stories."
Brown has been in the business a shorter time than Low, but he still has many of the same values. A TCU graduate, Brown just recently switched from The Bryan-College Station Eagle after eight years, to KBTX.com, but is still covering the Aggies. "Travis is an example of good old-fashioned newspaper reporting on a single school with exceptional results across the board," a member of the selection committee said:
"As a journalist you have a responsibilty to find and report the stories and issues that have the most impact on the beat that you cover," Brown said. "I have always believed it is imperative to report on the stories inside of operations and teams and sports that I cover, while making sure I give the audience a closer look at the on-field actions and personalities of those teams and sports. That balance helps readers get the whole picture of the influences that play on the teams and sports they love."
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.