The Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) is an organization that represents journalists in the United States who cover fantasy sports.[1] It was founded in 2004.[1] According to its website, the organization's mission is to "be a voice for writers in the arena of fantasy sports... [and] strive to promote and acknowledge the hard work and dedication shown by fantasy sports writers throughout the industry." Andy Behrens serves as the President of the FSWA. The website can be found at www.FSWA.org.
History
The association was founded in 2004. Ryan Houston was the first president, succeeded by Kirk Bouyelas in 2006, Mike Beacom in 2008, and Andy Behrens in 2014.[2] Near the end of each calendar year, nominations are made through a blind process. A group of judges with teaching backgrounds and a familiarity with fantasy sports narrows down the submissions to a group of typically 3-5 finalists. A second group of judges then chooses the best submission in each category. The finalist is typically announced in January, with winners announced about a month later. In order to garner more of an audience for the industry awards, the last few have been broadcast live on Sirius XM radio's Fantasy Sports channel.
Writing Awards
The Fantasy Sports Writers Association has been providing awards since 2004 to honor the industry's best writers.[1] The awards are typically presented each January at a meeting of the organization in Las Vegas. Many of the winners come from sites and publications dedicated to fantasy sports, while others come from general-purpose sports publications.
Past winners
2017 Award Winners
Football Awards
Baseball Awards
Other Awards
Writer of the Year - Gary Davenport, Fantasy Sharks
Writer of the Year - Todd Zola, Mastersball
Humor Article of the Year - Sammie Reid, Rotogrinders
Best Article on the Web - Jeff Ratcliffe, Pro Football Focus
Best Article on the Net - Jim Sannes, numberFire
Racing Writer of the Year - Mark Taylor, Rotowire
Best Article in Print - Jamey Eisenberg, CBS
Best Article in Print - Tim McCullough, FantasyPros
Golf Writer of the Year - Adam Daly-Frey, Fantasy Golf Insider
Best On-Going Series - Tyler Loechner, Pro Football Focus
Best On-Going Series - Scott Engel, RotoExperts
Basketball Writer of the Year - Benny Ricciardi, GuruElite
Several members of the industry have been nominated for and won multiple awards. The leaders - by individual and media outlet - are listed below:
All-Time Most Wins - Individual
Wins
Writer(s)
9
Brad Evans
6
Christopher Harris, David Regan
5
Matthew Berry, Mark Taylor
4
Daniel Dobish, Janet Eagleson, Matt Lutovsky, Chris Liss
3
Will Carroll, Brian McKitish, Ladd Biro, Jesse Pantuosco, Derek VanRiper, Jeff Erickson, Jeff Zimmerman, Jeff Ratcliffe
All-Time Most Wins - Media Outlet
Wins
Outlet(s)
61
Rotowire
16
RotoExperts
14
ESPN, Yahoo
12
Sporting News
11
Rotoworld
10
CBS
9
ProFootballFocus
8
TalentedMrRoto, USA Today
5
Baseball HQ
All-Time Most Nominations - Individual
Nominations
Writer(s)
15
Brad Evans
14
David Regan
13
Chris Liss, Chris Harris
11
Tristan Cockcroft, Patrick Mayo
9
Matthew Berry, Andy Behrens, John Georgopoulos, Ladd Biro, Daniel Dobish, Scott Engel
8
Heather Cocks, Matt Lutovsky, Jeff Erickson, Mark Taylor
7
Janet Eagleson, Alessandro Miglio, Jeff Zimmerman, Jeff Ratcliffe, Derek Van Riper, Scott Pianowski
6
Ray Flowers, Scott White, Greg Vara, Mike Rathburn, JJ Zachariason
All-Time Most Nominations - Media Outlet
Nominations
Outlet(s)
190
Rotowire
70
RotoExperts
42
ESPN
38
TalentedMrRoto, Sporting News
36
Yahoo Sports
29
CBS
24
Rotoworld
23
Pro Football Focus
21
RotoGrinders
15
Sports Grumblings
14
Football Diehards
11
Baseball HQ, USA Today
9
KFFL, Fangraphs, numberFire
8
Sports Illustrated, Fanball
Hall of Fame
In 2010, the FSWA established a Hall of Fame to honor fantasy sports writers, publishers, and editors "who possess a distinguished body of work and/or those who have helped to advance the careers of others in the fantasy sports industry."[6]
The classes of writers inducted into the Hall of Fame are below.
