By Madie Chandler | @madie_chandler

CLEVELAND — The U.S. Basketball Writers Association tipped off the 2024 Women’s Final Four with a brunch to honor a handful of individuals who tirelessly dedicate themselves to the game.

No one embodies this commitment more than Joye Lee-McNelis, recipient of the USBWA’s Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award, as she battled on the court with her Southern Mississippi team throughout her third off-court fight with lung cancer.

“The definition of courageous is not to be deterred by danger or pain; to be brave,” McNelis’s son, Connor, who accepted the award for his mother, began. “This is one of the best definitions to describe my mom. She is the bravest, most courageous, person I know. There is no quit in her.”

The USBWA also honored the NCAA’s Rick Nixon with the Mary Jo Haverbeck Award. The award’s namesake served as Penn State’s sports communications director and was a pioneer in the profession. As one of the first women to work in sports communications, the Mary Jo Haverbeck Award recognizes the outstanding and visionary work of a sports communications professional.

Nixon’s work with the NCAA’s Division I Women’s Basketball Championship and as media coordinator for the annual Women’s Final Four, an event seeing rapid growth in media coverage and visibility, earned him the honor.

“From 2006 to present with the game of women’s basketball, I’ve been fortunate to witness the great coaches and the teams that have won those championships,” Nixon said. “And it’s been just great to make that journey with all the different media members.”

One of those media members, Emily Adams of the Hartford Courant, earned the Rising Star Award, the USBWA award that honors the outstanding work of someone under 30 years of age.

“Basketball captivated me like nothing else, especially as I fell in love with journalism as a teenager,” Adams said. “It was fast-paced but intentional, technical, but free-flowing. There’s an intimacy to a basketball roster that fosters some of the most compelling personalities and relationships in all of sports. And nowhere more so than at the women’s college level.”

Adams’ coverage of both South Carolina and UConn – two of the most successful women’s college basketball programs in the country – made her an obvious choice as a Rising Star.

Dan Fleser — or “Dan Dan the Writer Man,” as he’s affectionately known by the Tennessee Lady Volunteers of the 1990s — was inducted into the USBWA’s Hall of Fame for his coverage of Tennessee’s championship teams over 25 years on the Lady Vols beat.

“I think this organization, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, has been instrumental in safeguarding access and then also encouraging investment,” Fleser said. “And that’s important because without the access, without the means to do this, I wouldn’t be standing here today as ‘Dan Dan the Hall of Fame Man.’”

Fleser’s work covering six of Summitt’s eight NCAA champion teams paved the path to his Hall of Fame election.

“I just felt like I was on the front lines all through those years,” Fleser reflected. “And I really want to stress that because you can’t write these stories if you don’t have that kind of access. It was important to them that they were covered and they respected the work I did.”

Michelle Smith’s work as a trailblazer – the first women’s basketball columnist for both CBSSportsLine.com and ESPN.com – captured the attention of the basketball world. She was inducted into the USBWA’s Hall of Fame alongside Fleser on Friday.

“I work full time at San Jose State,” Smith said. “And when I told them I was going to take a couple of weeks [off] for Portland and this, I said I was going to do my heart work. And I mean that sincerely. This is my heart work.”

Smith’s involvement in her heart work of women’s basketball is prevalent in her 30 years of experience and invaluable relationships.

“When you love this work, you want to keep doing it,” Smith said. “So, you move around, and you do what you need to do to continue to be able to write and that’s what I’ve done.”

The USBWA Awards Luncheon reminded all in attendance of the significance of the 2024 Women’s Final Four and the impact of the stories that will come from it.