INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – Doug Tammaro of Arizona State University, a veteran of more than three decades of sports communications leadership including a longtime role at the NCAA Men's Final Four, has been named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Katha Quinn Award winner for 2024. Tammaro will receive the award on April 8 at Glendale, Ariz., at an awards luncheon before the national championship game.
Tammaro, the Senior Associate Athletic Director, Media Relations in his 31st year at Arizona State, has worked 16 Men's Final Fours as a member of the NCAA Media Coordination Team.
"Doug is an especially deserving recipient of an award that celebrates the importance of relationships in coverage of college basketball," said USBWA president Brendan Quinn, a senior writer for The Athletic. "He gets it. He understands both the task at hand for the media and what's best for those he represents at Arizona State. Doug is not only a pleasure to work with, but also honest and genuine at all times. For those reasons, he epitomizes the spirit of the Katha Quinn Award."
Since 1988, the award has recognized sports information directors and administrators that have excelled at servicing the media or provide an inspiration to those in the sports journalism profession. In 1988 a then-unnamed award was presented to Quinn, the Sports Information Director at St. John's University, to celebrate her work overseeing the press operation at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis, despite a diagnosis of terminal liver cancer. She passed away in March, 1989 at the age of 34.
The 34 previous winners include Roger Valdiserri of Notre Dame, Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke, Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, and former NCAA officials Bill Hancock, Tom Jernstedt, and Greg Shaheen.
"It is an honor to be associated with Katha Quinn's legacy, and it hits home with me because the passion that the late Jim O'Connell presented this award every year made a huge impact on my career,” Tammaro said. “Jim made sure everyone knew Katha's story and the respect and friendship he had with Katha still resonates with everyone in the college basketball media world. They both were incredibly special. To have my name on a list that includes many greats is overwhelming, and to see Roger Valdiserri's name means it is a special award. The kindness, dedication and work ethic of everyone who has received this award I don't take for granted."
Tammaro has worked in athletic media relations since June of 1993 after one-year stints at Notre Dame and Cincinnati. His career has included working directly with some of the most notable and recognizable Sun Devils in history, including James Harden, Eddie House, Ike Diogu, Pat Tillman, Jake Plummer, Jon Rahm and Lu Dort.
In 2017 he served as the media coordinator for the NCAA Men's Final Four at Glendale, Ariz. He served as media coordinator for the NCAA Golf Championships held at Grayhawk Course in May of 2021, '22 and '23.
The Ellwood City, Pa., native and 1991 Baldwin-Wallace College graduate has also helped several former student assistants earn positions in the public and media relations industry. He known in ASU circles for helping create Pat's Run and his work in helping the Pat Tillman Foundation, as the run annually attracts more than 30,000 participants to the Tempe area and the Foundation has provided more than $20 million to close to 600 Tillman Scholars.
Tammaro is a branch on one of several media relation director's trees, having worked for such sports information legends as Valdiserri (the 1993 Katha Quinn Award winner) plus John Heisler of Notre Dame and UCF, John Bianco of the University of Texas, Cincinnati and Baldwin-Wallace College, Mark Brand of Arizona State, Tom Hathaway (Cincinnati), Rose Pietrzak Carter (Notre Dame) and CSC 2008 Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Ruple, also at Baldwin-Wallace College.
Tammaro was honored with the 2022 University Division Achievement Award from the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (now College Sports Communicators).
Doug and his wife Stephanie live in Chandler, Ariz., and have two daughters. Arianna is a junior on the softball team at Lake Erie College in Ohio while Miquela is a junior on the softball team at Corona Del Sol High School.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
ALL-TIME KATHA QUINN AWARD WINNERS
1988 Katha Quinn, St. John's University
1991 Marvin “Skeeter” Francis, Atlantic Coast Conference
1992 Tom Frericks, University of Dayton
1993 Roger Valdiserri, University of Notre Dame
1994 Marvin “Swede” Johnson, Coors Brewing Co.
1995 George Raveling, Washington State/USC
1996 Rick Brewer, University of North Carolina
1997 Craig Miller and Amy Early, USA Basketball
1998 Al Shrier, Temple University
1999 Bill Hancock, NCAA
2000 Tim Tolokan, University of Connecticut
2001 Mike Tranghese, Big East Conference
2002 Mark Asher, Washington Post
2003 Jack Watkins, Missouri Valley Conference
2004 Jim Marchiony, NCAA
2005 Steve Kirschner, University of North Carolina
2006 Wayne Duke, Big Ten Conference
2007 Joe Mitch, U.S. Basketball Writers Association
2008 Josh Krulewitz and Mike Soltys, ESPN
2009 John Paquette, Big East Conference
2010 Chris Fallon, National Invitation Tournament
2011 Oliver Pierce, Gonzaga University
2012 Kenny Klein, University of Louisville
2013 Greg Shaheen, NCAA
2014 Brian Morrison, Atlantic Coast Conference
2015 Tom Jernstedt, NCAA
2016 David Worlock, NCAA
2017 Bernie Cafarelli, American Athletic Conference
2018 Joe Castiglione, University of Oklahoma
2019 Mike Sheridan, Villanova University
2020 Jim Haney, NABC
2021 Doug Vance, University of Kansas, CoSIDA
2022 Bill Behrns, Loyola University
2023 Chuck Walsh, Florida State University
2024 Doug Tammaro, Arizona State University