Hunter College sophomore David Horn MHC ’26 has been selected to receive the 2024 Jim O’Connell Sports Communications Scholarship Award from the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association.
The award will be presented to Horn at the 91st MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards dinner scheduled Thursday, April 18, at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, N.Y. The Haggerty dinner is the longest running, media-managed college basketball awards program in the United States.
Horn, who lives in Manhattan and is enrolled in the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter, is majoring in Statistics and Media Studies, and has an academic cumulative GPA of 3.91. In addition to his studies, he has been extensively involved in a variety of broadcast and sports information activities at the school.
“David’s passion for broadcast media is evident in his dedication to improving coverage and storytelling,” said Terry Wansart, Hunter’s Director of Athletics. “David embodies the spirit and legacy of Oc. He has consistently exhibited the talent, drive, and focus necessary to achieve his dreams.”
During his freshman year, Horn collaborated with Hunter’s sports information department to initiate broadcasting Hawks home softball games. That has led him to livestream other school sports too, such as volleyball, basketball, and soccer, providing high quality announcing and production with minimum resources, and bringing in other interested students to be involved. Horn hosts a weekly “Hawks Athletics” show on the college’s student-run radio station, covering all the school’s 18 sports and featuring interviews with athletes, coaches, and administrators.
“David has demonstrated his ability to work hard, and he has helped improve and promote the athletics program and the student-athletes’ experience in many ways,” said Jack Knuettel, Hunter’s Event & Equipment Manager. “He has added significant leadership and passion to our program.”
Eventually, Horn said, he would like to become a professional sports broadcaster.
“I know that there is a long road ahead of me," he said. “Along the way, I am trying to absorb as much knowledge and experience from the people that I meet to help me along the way.”
The Oc Award, which includes a check for $4,000, represents a one-time grant to a New York Cicy-area college student majoring in Sports Journalism, Communications, Information, or Sports Management. The scholarship is named in memory of Jim O’Connell, the longtime Associated Press national college basketball editor who passed away in July 2018 at the age of 64.
