USBWA Most Courageous Award
The USBWA Most Courageous Awards are two annual basketball awards given by the United States Basketball Writers Association to figures associated with college basketball who, according to the organization, have "demonstrated extraordinary courage reflecting honor on the sport of amateur basketball." Since 2012, the women's version of the award has been named the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award in honor of the legendary Tennessee women's coach who received the award that year.
History and selection
The award was first presented in 1978, and was not initially restricted exclusively to college basketball, although every winner since 1980 has been associated with the college game in some manner. Through 2009, a single award was presented; starting in 2010, separate awards have been given for men's and women's college basketball. More than one individual can receive an award, with the most recent example being in 2020, when the women's award was presented to sisters Lauren and Whitney Cox, respectively players at Baylor and Lubbock Christian. Traditionally, the winners receive their awards at the men's or women's Final Four, although the awards can be presented earlier as circumstances dictate. The most notable exception was when the 2015 Summitt Award was presented to Lauren Hill at halftime of her first college game in November 2014, presumably so she would receive the award while alive.Most honorees have been cited for courage as current or former college players. However, the list of recipients also includes coaches, the wife of a coach, two broadcasters, a referee, an athletic program staffer, the widow of a former player, and two college basketball programs.
The award's bifurcation by sex or gender is not based on that of the recipient, but rather on whether the recipient was connected to the men's or women's game. In 2019, a woman received the men's award and a man received the women's award.
Winners
All affiliations listed were current at the time the award was presented. The "Notes" column indicates the situation that led the USBWA to present the award.Single award (1978–2009)
All winners during this period were associated with men's basketball unless noted otherwise.| Year | Recipient | Affiliation | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | William & Mary | Player | Cancer patient | |
| 1979 | Batesville High School | Player | Played despite having only one arm | |
| 1980 | Niagara | Player | Cancer patient | |
| 1981 | LSU | Player | Cancer patient | |
| 1982 | Bowling Green | Player | Overcame "tremendous personal and physical problems" | |
| 1983 | Western Carolina | Player | Overcame serious complications of injuries in an auto accident | |
| 1984 | Pittsburgh | Assistant coach | Rescued an elderly couple from a home fire | |
| 1985 | Army | Player | Overcame a life-threatening illness | |
| 1986 | Jacksonville | Head coach | Recovered from emergency brain aneurysm surgery | |
| 1987 | Notre Dame | Player | Recovered from serious injuries in an auto accident | |
| 1988 | Arizona | Player | Overcame the murder of his father during his college career | |
| 1989 | Indiana | Former player | Played wheelchair basketball after being paralyzed in an auto accident | |
| 1990 | UMass | Player | Went from homelessness to a Division I scholarship | |
| 1991 | Providence | Player | Returned from an irregular heartbeat and many injuries | |
| 1992 | Referee | Officiated college games while battling cancer for 13 years | ||
| 1993 | ESPN | Broadcaster and former coach | Battled bone cancer | |
| 1994 | Pittsburgh | Player | Survived childhood in a difficult New York City neighborhood, including being shot in the head | |
| 1995 | Arkansas | Head coach | Overcame racial prejudice and the cancer death of his daughter during his career | |
| 1996 | Marymount | Player | Returned to play a year after receiving a liver transplant | |
| 1997 | Auburn | Player | Recovered from surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his arm | |
| 1998 | Seton Hall | Player | Went from war-torn Liberia to Division I basketball | |
| 1999 | Florida | Player | Played despite having only one eye since a middle school accident | |
| 2000 | Oral Roberts | Player | Started despite losing the index finger of his shooting hand in an auto accident | |
| 2001 | Entire program | Oklahoma State | Program | Dealt with the aftermath of a plane crash that killed 10 team members |
| 2002 | South Carolina | Player | Played successfully despite 80% hearing loss | |
| 2003 | Virginia Tech | Former player | Survived an infection that led to the amputation of parts of all four limbs after her freshman season | |
| 2004 | Marquette | Assistant coach | Coached despite suffering from a lung disease that eventually required a double lung transplant | |
| 2005 | Western Washington | Player | Played successfully despite having full use of only one arm | |
| 2006 | Tennessee Tech | Head coach | Continued to coach despite Guillain–Barré syndrome | |
| 2007 | Entire program | Duquesne | Program | Dealt with the aftermath of a summer 2006 shooting that left five players injured |
| 2008 | LSU–Shreveport | Player | Returned from a major neck injury suffered during a November 2006 game | |
| 2009 | San Diego State | Player | Played while undergoing treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma |