Indiana High School Athletic Association

     9150 North Meridian Street, Box 40650, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240-0650

Phone: 317-846-6601    Fax: 317-575-4244    Website: www.ihsaa.org

Blake Ress, Commissioner

_____________________________________________________________________________

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                              March 22, 2002

Contact: Jerry Baker, Sports Information Director                                                                      

E-Mail: jbaker@ihsaa.org

 

IHSAA Distinguished Media Service Award to Pat McKee

 

Pat McKee, sportswriter for The Indianapolis Star, will be presented the 2002 District II Distinguished Media Service Award from the Indiana High School Athletic Association at half-time of the 3A boys state basketball championship game between Harding and Delta High Schools Saturday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

 

Since the inception of this award in 1984, a broadcaster or sportswriter from each of the IHSAA legislative districts has been recognized annually.

 

Pat McKee recently observed his 20th anniversary as a member of the sports department of The Indianapolis Star, where he has spent a good portion of this time either covering or supervising those who cover high school sports throughout the city and state.

 

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Pat was graduated from Christian Brothers College High School and attended the University of Missouri, where he was an honors student and earned Pi Beta Kappa and two “Best in the Nation” citations from the College Sports Information Directors of America for publications produced while a student assistant in the university sports information office.

 

Pat arrived in Indiana in 1980 for a four-month administrative fellowship with the Indiana Pacers.  He returned in January 1981 after completing college and joined the staff of the Indiana Sports Weekly, a tabloid-sized newspaper that concentrated on Indiana high school sports.  He was then hired a year later by The Star to work on the sports copy desk and worked his way up to Assistant Sports Editor. In 1997, Pat was named High School Sports Coordinator and in 1999 again became a full-time high school sports reporter.

 

Over the years, Pat has been recognized with the IFCA Media Award, a pair of Distinguished Service Awards from the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Media Award and, most recently, a Special Recognition Award from the National Federation of State High School Associations.

 

As an avocation, Pat has devoted significant time as a volunteer coach and organizer of Amateur Athletic Union youth basketball events on the local, state and national levels and has served as an Associate Director of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame

 

On behalf of all 386 member schools of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, we salute Pat McKee and thank him for his many years of dedicated service to high school athletics by proudly presenting him with the 2002 Distinguished Media Service Award.