Myron Cope High School Awards Back for Another Year at Point Park University Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Point Park University's School of Communication is partnering with Myron Cope’s family to recognize high school athletic communication excellence in Western Pennsylvania. Any student who wins a Myron Cope High School Athletic Communication Award is eligible for a $1,000 scholarship if the student attends Point Park University.
Some of Western Pennsylvania’s most esteemed sports journalists will help judge the entries:
- Guy Junker, public address announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates and longtime sports anchor for WTAE-TV
- Tim Rigby, former anchor and sports anchor for WJAC-TV
School of Communication Dean Bernie Ankney said the competition will be fierce.
“I was so impressed with the live broadcasts, sports photography and sports journalism that high school students submitted last year for the first Cope Awards,” said Ankney. “I thought the high school broadcasts were nearly as good as college broadcasts. I can’t wait to see this year’s submissions.”
Elizabeth Cope, daughter of Myron Cope, said her dad would be honored that the awards were named after him.
“I know my dad would have been thrilled to see the excellent work recognized at last year’s Cope Awards ceremony,” Cope said. “He would be so excited to see these young men and women entering sports communication. I think his advice would be: 'Be yourself and don’t be afraid to take risks. Don’t let someone tell you that you don’t have the right voice or right look.'”
Awards Given (three schools honored for each category):
- Best Broadcast of Live Sports
- Best High School Sports Segment
- Best High School Sports Broadcast Show
- Best Sports Photography
- Best Sports Social Media Account (high school)
- Best Sports Social Media Account (individual)
- Best Sports Website
- Best Sports Coverage in a High School Newspaper
Individual Awards
- High School Play-by-Play Announcer of the Year (Greg Brown Award)
- High School Sports Broadcaster of the Year Award (Bob Pompeani Award)
- High School Sports Multimedia Journalist of the Year Award (Michael DeCourcy Award)
- High School Sports Podcaster of the Year
- High School Sports Journalist of the Year (Newspaper and Yearbook)
Brown, Pompeani and DeCourcy are Point Park alumni.
Eligibility
Pennsylvania
Any high school in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is eligible to participate.
Ohio
Ohio high schools in the following counties are eligible: Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Stark and Trumbull.
West Virginia
West Virginia high schools in the following counties are also eligible: Brooke, Hancock, Monongalia, Marshall, Ohio, Preston and Wetzel.
“The School of Communication offers a sports communication major and I'd love for these high school students to come to Point Park because I think it's the next step in them getting a job in broadcasting, college sports or professional sports,” said Ankney.
Online Award Submissions Due January 15, 2025
High schools can enter the competition online. All submissions must be received by January 15, 2025. Students are eligible to receive awards only if they attend the ceremony.
Awards Ceremony
Sunday, March 9, 2025, at noon.
Point Park's Pittsburgh Playhouse
Contact Dean Ankney with questions.