Helping women and minorities into newsrooms since 1993
Helping women and minorities into newsrooms since 1993
The Sports Journalism Institute began as a vision to open doors for students to add their voices to sports coverage in their local media outlets and to bring new perspectives to the stories being told.
The idea was born at the 1992 NABJ convention – at a workshop that focused largely on using sports to engage high school students in creative writing, while also giving them a solid foundation in the principles of fairness and accuracy.
“If SJI co-founder Leon Carter and I had any idea that more than three decades later we’d still be devoting so much of our summers to SJI, we might well have backed off without a second thought,” co-founder Sandy Rosenbush said.
But there was no backing away once the SJI train started rolling. And today, SJI has 400-plus alums, working for outlets including ESPN, The New York Times, The Athletic, USA Today Co., Fox Sports, and too many others to name.
The summer of 2026 will mark another milestone for the Sports Journalism Institute, as 16 students – eight men and eight women – become the program’s 34th class. This year’s cohort reflects SJI’s expanding reach, welcoming first-time participants Bradley University, Central Connecticut State University and the University of Pennsylvania.
The class also includes four students from three Historically Black Colleges and Universities, continuing SJI’s longstanding commitment to access and representation.
American University stands as the program’s longest-serving school, having placed a student in SJI’s inaugural class and now celebrating its fifth participant, its first since 2016.
The Houston Chronicle further extends its remarkable legacy with the program, hosting its 27th SJI intern since 1995.
It has been a long but rewarding journey for both the instructors and the students. We learn from each other, and we celebrate the success of our alums – not all of whom write about sports.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a White House correspondent for The New York Times; Malika Andrews can be seen on ESPN reporting and conducting interviews at the Australian Open and other venues; and other alums have found teaching rewarding.
But SJI is, at heart, an extended family, offering support, advice and an extensive network of contacts who are vested in our students’ success.
And that’s the real reason that, after more than three decades, SJI is still growing and expanding.
The Class of 2026
Amanda Avila
California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo
Junior
The Oklahoman
Xavier Board
University of Maryland, College Park
Graduate Student
The Tennessean
Said Bravo
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Senior
Commercial Appeal (Memphis)
Xavier Burton
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Junior
Knoxville News Sentinel
Alyssa Cooper
Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University
Senior
Minnesota Star Tribune
Kai Dizon
UCLA
Junior
Southern California News Group
Reiven Douglas
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Graduate Student
ESPN
Matthew Gomez
University of Texas at Austin
Senior
Houston Chronicle
Samantha Guillotte
Loyola University New Orleans
Senior
Florida Times-Union
Gabriella Hartlaub
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Senior
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Penelope Jennings
American University
Senior
Seattle Times
Latif Love
Bradley University
Senior
Kansas City Star
Alauna Marable
Norfolk State University
Junior
Detroit News
Ryan Myers
Arizona State University
Senior
Dallas Morning News
Marcus Saunders
Central Connecticut State University
Senior
Providence Journal
Vivian Yao
University of Pennsylvania
Senior
Baltimore Banner