June 25, 2024

UMass Journalism professor Katie Barnes was named one of seven finalists for the inaugural Billie Jean King Award for Excellence in Women's Sports. 

Barnes entered a portfolio of four stories published in 2023 that included work highlighting girls and women in sports; their work was chosen from a pool of 80 applicants. The award, presented by the Billie Jean King Foundation, the Associated Press Sports Editors and the APSE Foundation, is meant to highlight coverage of girls' and women's sports, and is "a continuation of APSE’s mission of annually recognizing professional excellence in sports journalism with a wide-ranging national contest.

Barnes has worked at ESPN since 2015, and their writing covers the intersection of sport and gender. This isn't the first time they've been honored for their remarkable work -  Barnes was named the 2017 NLGJA Journalist of the Year by the Association of LGBT Journalists and has been nominated for three GLAAD awards. Their book "Fair Play: How Sports Shape The Gender Debate" earned starred reviews from both Kirkus Review and Booklist. 

The winner of the Billie Jean King Award will be announced in July and will receive a $5,000 check from the Billie Jean King Foundation.