| Join us as student reporters who took top prizes in the 2026 Drake Group Education Fund Student Journalism Prize for Investigative Reporting on Intercollegiate Athletics share their reporting and top journalists discuss the vital role of enterprise and investigative journalism on college campuses. The winners will talk about their stories with an esteemed panel of sports journalists and authors from The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Columbus Dispatch, and NBCSport.com who were the judges in this year's contest. CLOSED CAPTION FEATURE AVAILABLE FOR ALL WEBINARS
| MEET OUR JUDGES AND PANELISTS | | | Wayne Drehs, is a visiting associate professor of practice at the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where he teaches sports journalism, feature writing and investigative reporting. He spent 23 years on ESPN's features and enterprise team, producing in-depth stories that used sports to explore broader societal issues, including race and gender equity, mental health, sexual abuse and global politics. A three-time Emmy Award winner, he was a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan and a distinguished alumnus of the University of Iowa.
| | | Nicole Kraft, is a professor of journalism practice at The Ohio State University and director of Ohio State's Sports & Society Institute. She is the author of "Always Get the Name of the Dog: A Guide to Media Interviewing," "Writing Fabulous Features," "100 Years in Harness," and co-wrote the forthcoming "Storytelling Beyond the Scoreboard." An award-winning sports writer, she covers the Columbus Blue Jackets for The Associated Press, sports media for Forbes.com and horse racing for The Columbus Dispatch. She was named the 2024 Scripps Howard Teacher of the Year.
| | Allan Kreda, has spent more than three decades covering hockey for The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and The New York Times. He graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in biology, earned a master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and began his career at the Daytona Beach News-Journal before joining the AP in 1989, where he worked across sports, business and international desks. He later covered sports business and the NHL for Bloomberg, wrote more than 400 hockey stories and co-authored "Miracle Gold, Four Stanley Cups and a Lifetime of Islanders Hockey" with 1980 U.S. Olympic defenseman Ken Morrow.
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Mitch Stacy, is an award-winning journalist and 40-year veteran of newspapers and The Associated Press. He spent the final decade of his career covering sports in Ohio, reporting on major college and professional teams across the state. Over four decades, he built a reputation for steady, accurate coverage and deep knowledge of the sports landscape. | | Brian White, is sports editor at The Columbus Dispatch, where he oversees coverage of Ohio's major college and professional teams. He previously worked as a reporter, columnist and editor at newspapers in Green Bay, Fort Myers, Wilmington, Delaware, and Fort Lauderdale, building a broad foundation in local and regional sports coverage. He also served as a lead editor at NBCSports.com and MSN.com, helping guide national digital sports content.
| | The Drake Group Education Fund is honored to partner with the Ohio State University Sports and Society Initiative (SSI) for the 2026 Prize for Investigative Reporting on Intercollegiate Athletics. A special thank you to Nicole Kraft, professor of journalism practice at The Ohio State University and director of Ohio State's Sports & Society Institute for her leadership as Chair, to Julia Maceyko for her vital contributions, and to the entire Selection Committee of elite journalists for their work in highlighting the stories of student journalists and college athletes. | | | The Drake Group Education Fund Video Library CLICK HERE to see the table of contents of The Drake Group Education Fund Video Library for recordings of all 54 previous webinars including the full proceedings of the 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 Allen Sack National Symposia. | | | The Drake Group Education Fund Inc. (TDGEF), is a national nonprofit organization operating through a fiscal sponsorship with Players Philanthropy Fund, a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions TDGEF are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. The Drake Group Education Fund's mission is to ensure that the promise of college athletics is realized for all stakeholders. TDGEF produces The Allen Sack National Symposium on Integrity in College Sports and the Critical Issues in College Sports Webinar Series, conducts fact-based research on intercollegiate athletics and develops position papers and other educational materials that influence public discourse on current issues and controversies in college sport. Copyright: CC BY-NC-ND | | | | |
