Houston Sports Authority to honor area athletes, others in February.
Top athletes, fan, coach, executive will be among those honored
Houston athletes, coaches, executives and fans will be honored at an annual Houston Sports Awards program announced Tuesday, with the inaugural event scheduled for Feb. 8, 2018, at the Hilton Americas.
Sponsored by the Harris County Houston Sports Authority, the event is patterned after awards shows staged by ESPN and NFL Network, as well as several other U.S. cities, said Janis Burke, the sports authority’s executive director.
“So many times, we’re on to the next award or bidding for another men’s Final Four or Super Bowl, and we don’t look back to reflect,” Burke said. “We wanted to take an opportunity through the sports awards program to also reflect.”
Ten awards will honor pro, college and high school athletes, a top coach, executive and fan, and the year’s top moments and events. Other awards will honor sportsmanship and lifetime achievement.
Nominees will be accepted through Dec. 1 at the event website: houstonsportsawards.com. Honorees will be selected from among three finalists in each category by a committee of local media representatives, plus public online voting.
“The athlete and executive that may win the award may very likely win it in their league as well,” said Rockets president Tad Brown, who joined representatives of the Texans, Astros and Dynamo at the announcement. “That shows the quality of teams that we have here.”
Winners will receive a trophy designed by sports artist Opie Otterstad and the design firm RARE Design that includes an outline of the Astrodome, a ball, a star to signify Houston’s role in space exploration, and Latin and English inscriptions of “Never underestimate the heart of a champion,” the words spoken by Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich after the team’s second NBA championship victory in 1995.
Organizers said some proceeds from the event, which will air live on AT&T SportsNet Southwest and will be streamed on KILT’s (610 AM) website, sportsradio610.com, will benefit charities to be named later.