Christine Brennan

Distinguished Alumnae Award Recipient, 2006

The Alumnae Award recognizes a woman who has brought honor to Northwestern University through outstanding professional contributions in her field and who has attained national recognition. Established in 1976, the Alumnae Award has been presented every year to an alumna who has had a significant impact in her field of endeavor. Educators, journalists, doctors, scientists, and artists are included among The Alumnae’s roster of awardees.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, award winning journalist

Sports columnist for USA Today, television commentator, best-selling author and speaker, Christine appears on CNN, ABC News, PBS NewsHour and NPR’s Morning Edition.  “Named one of the country’s top 10 sports columnists three times by the Associated Press Sports Editors, she has covered the last 20 Olympic Games, summer and winter.  In March 2020, Brennan was named the winner of the prestigious Red Smith Award, presented annually to a person who has made ‘major contributions to sport journalism.’ . . . The first president of the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM), she  started a scholarship-internship program that has supported more than 175 female students over the past two decades. Brennan is the author of seven books.  Her 2006 sports memoir, “Best Seat in the House,” is the only father-daughter memoir written by a sports journalist.”  Since receiving the Alumnae Award, she received Northwestern’s Alumni Service Award in 2007 and Yale’s Kiphuth Medal in 2013. Both the NCAA and the Woman’s Sports Foundation honored her in celebrations for the 40th Anniversary of Title IX in 2012. www.christinebrennan.com