December 5, 2013
Veteran Indiana Writer Mark Morrow to be honored by IHSAA
Mark Morrow, whose work has been read in print and online for five decades, has been selected by the IHSAA Executive Committee to receive the 2013-14 Distinguished Media Service Award for District 2.
Morrow’s contributions to education-based athletics will be recognized on Saturday when Kokomo visits Fishers in boys high school basketball. IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox and Sports Information Director Jason Wille will make the presentation.
This is the 50th year Morrow has worked as a member of the Indiana media and all but four of those years have been covering high school sports. He is the founder, president and publisher of Hamilton County Sports Daily, an all-sports website that publishes seven days a week and focuses on Hamilton County sports with an emphasis on its high school programs and athletes. It can be found at HCSportsDaily.com.
Morrow is a 1965 Kokomo High School graduate where he played football, basketball and baseball and got his start with the Kokomo Tribune while a high school sophomore. He began working there regularly in 1967 and served as assistant sports editor from 1972 to 1975. He was sports editor at the Michigan City News-Dispatch from 1975 to 1982, and joined the Indianapolis News in 1983. He spent 25 years at Indianapolis Newspapers before taking early retirement in 2009, spending his final 12 years at the Indianapolis Star as a sports copy editor.
During his career, Morrow worked as a beat writer for the Indiana Pacers from 1984-86, was a golf writer and columnist for 30 years and spent eight years as High Schools Sports Coordinator for the Indianapolis News before the paper merged with the Star. Between 2008 and 2010, he was the online columnist for the VYPE High School Magazine web site.
In December 2008, he published his book, “Have Laptop, Did Travel,” ‘a newspaper journalist’s memoirs on Sports’ Grandest Stage’, which is a collection of stories involving several famous Indiana sports figures.
Morrow is a member of the Indiana Basketball Coaches’ Association and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, where he’s currently an associate director; the Indiana Football Coaches’ Association; the Indiana Sportswriters-Sportscasters Association, where he became its youngest president in 1975; the United States Golf Association; and is a charter member of the PGA Tour Partners Association, which in 2010 was renamed Golf Partners Club. He also was presented the Outstanding Baseball Media Award from the Indiana Baseball Coaches Association in 2012.
Morrow, married to Becky, is the proud father of two sons – Matt (Michelle) Morrow and Mike (Emily) McCormick – and five grandchildren: Gavin, Cuinn, and Camille Morrow; and Aidan and Ella McCormick. He and his late wife Carol were married for 36 years.
This is the 29th year the IHSAA has recognized outstanding members of the Indiana news media from each of its three legislative districts for excellence in the coverage of high school sports. District 2 covers 28 counties across northern and central Indiana. Morrow is the second of three individuals to be honored this school year joining Bill Beck of the Elkhart Truth. Previous Award Winners
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About the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA)
Founded in 1903, the purpose of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA) is to encourage, regulate and give direction to wholesome amateur interschool athletic competition between its 412 member schools. The Association provides state championship tournament series in 20 sports, 10 for girls and 10 for boys. Approximately 160,000 student athletes participate in IHSAA sports on an annual basis.
Media Contact
Jason Wille
Sports Information Director
Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc.
jwille@ihsaa.org
(317) 846-6601
IHSAA 13-14/17