AAU ANNOUNCES 85TH ANNUAL SULLIVAN AWARD SEMI-FINALISTS

VOTING IS CLOSED.

Voting for finalists will re-open Wednesday, March 18th.

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Lake Buena Vista, March 9, 2015 - AAU President/CEO Dr. Roger Goudy and AAU Sullivan Award Chair Melissa Willis announced voting is officially open today for the 85th Annual AAU James E. Sullivan Award.  Fourteen (14) nominees including Ohio State Buckeye running back Ezekiel Elliott and Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medalists, Meryl Davis & Charlie White, are among the AAU Sullivan hopefuls.

Voting is open to everyone (sport fans, news media, coaches, family, friends) and is located at www.aausullivan.org or

www.aausports.org.

Known as the "Oscar" of sports awards, and older than The Heisman, the AAU Sullivan Award honors the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. It has been presented annually by the AAU since 1930 as a salute to founder, past president of the AAU, and a pioneer in amateur sports, James E. Sullivan. Besides athletic achievement, the AAU Sullivan Award also looks for leadership, character and sportsmanship.  Past recipients of the award include: Bruce Jenner (1976), Peyton Manning (1997), Michael Phelps (2003), J.J. Redick (2005), Tim Tebow (2007), Shawn Johnson (2008), and Missy Franklin (2012).

“We are excited to open the voting for this year’s AAU Sullivan Award with such an accomplished group of athletes,” said Dr. Goudy.  “From a Heisman Trophy winner (Marcus Mariota) to a freshman center at Duke University (Jahil Okafor) as well as the first female American luge athlete to medal at the Olympics (Erin Hamlin), this year’s class truly represents the very best in amateur athletics.”

Semi-finalist voting will close March 15th.  The top six (6) finalists will then be named.  Finalists will attend the award ceremony on April 19, 2015 at 2:00pm during which time the winner will be announced.  Tim Morehouse, 1988 Olympic Silver Medalist in fencing, will emcee the event.   

Also, this year’s ceremony marks the return to the prestigious New York Athletic Club (NYAC).  Founded in 1868, the NYAC was one of the first organized amateur athletic clubs in the United States.

“With its rich and storied history, the return of the award to the New York Athletic Club signals the AAU’s commitment to both recognizing the excellence of today’s athletes while also celebrating the accomplishments of those who came before,” said Willis.  

Rounding out the list of semi-finalists are: Simone Biles (Gymnastics), Shawn Barber (Pole Vault), Adeline Gray (Wrestling), Micha Hancock (Volleyball), Haley Ishimatsu (Diving), Katie Ledecky (Swimming), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Basketball), Ollie Schniederjans (Golf), Maggie Steffens (Water Polo).

For more info on the event, including voting, past winners, event details and full bios on the nominees, visit aausullivan.org.

About AAU

Founded in 1888, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer, sports organizations in the United States. The “Sports for All, Forever” philosophy is shared by over 600,000 participants and over 50,000 volunteers. The AAU annually sanctions more than 34 sports programs, 250 national championships, and over 30,000 age division events. AAU alumni include LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire, Diana Taurasi, Madison Bumgarner and Justin Verlander.  A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the development of amateur sportswww.aausports.org.

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