Collegiate Women Sports Awards 50th Anniversary Timeline

1976
The Collegiate Women Sports Awards begin as the Broderick Awards, named after Tom Broderick. Judie Holland, Director of Women's Athletics, from UCLA; Irv Grossman and Tom Broderick created the program. Subsequent to the passing of Tom Broderick the program continued to be guided by Holland & Grossman.

A founding principle of the awards is that recipients are selected through a national vote conducted by all NCAA member institutions via their designated Senior Woman Administrator (SWA). In the program’s inaugural year under the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), Honda Sport Awards were presented in badminton, basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball.

June 1977
Lusia Harris (Delta State, basketball) becomes the first Broderick Cup recipient. The award winner is to reflect “not only athletic achievement but also the ideals of team contribution, scholastic endeavor, school and community involvement and those personal characteristics as are stated in the philosophy of the NCAA.”

1982-1983
The Broderick Awards program continues under the new NCAA era, but discontinues the sport awards for badminton and fencing as they were not carried over as sanctioned sports from the AIAW to the NCAA era. 

June 1984
Tracy Caulkins (Florida, swimming & diving) becomes the first two-time Cup winner after earning the award in 1982 and tying for the honor with Cheryl Miller (USC, basketball) in 1984.

1986
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) agrees to serve as sponsor, changing the award name to the Honda-Broderick Awards in transition and then the Honda Awards.

June 1988
The Collegiate Women Sports Awards expands to include a DII and DIII Woman Athlete of the Year and an Inspiration Award winner. Jessica Beachy (Concordia, basketball) was the first recipient for DIII and Angela Brinton (Cal State Northridge, softball) earned the first honor for DII. Marie Roethlisberger (Minnesota, gymnastics) is the first Inspiration Award winner.

1989
Soccer added as a new Honda Sport Award (Division I).

1995
The first Irv Grossman Award of Merit honor is given to Charlotte West (Southern Illinois University). The award recognizes unique achievement as it contributes to public awareness and appreciation of women’s collegiate athletics and elevates the status of women’s collegiate sports on a national level. It is not a yearly award.

1996
Rebecca Lobo (Connecticut, basketball, 1995) and Jennifer Rizzotti (Connecticut, basketball, 1996) become the first back-to-back Honda Cup winners from the same school.

2000
Lacrosse added as a new Honda Sport Award (Division I).

2001
The name changes again to The Collegiate Women Sports Awards sponsored by Honda, as American Honda Motor Co., Inc. serves as the title sponsor.

2006
Co-founder Irv Grossman passes and under the leadership of Judie Holland, Executive Director, The Collegiate Women Sports Awards is organized under the California Nonprofit Corporation Law. Henceforth, The Collegiate Women Sports Awards is the owner and operator of the awards program.

2009
Kristin Erb (Lock Haven, softball) becomes the first two-time DII Woman Athlete of the Year (2006, 2009).

June 2011
Maya Moore (Connecticut, basketball) becomes the second two-time Honda Cup winner after winning the award in 2011 and tying for the honor with Megan Hodge (Penn State, volleyball) in 2010.

2012
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) becomes a presenting sponsor and a composite logo follows. Therefore, as of 2012, the awards have been known as The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.

June, 2012
First-ever two-day event in L.A. in conjunction with a one-hour television broadcast (on ESPN).

September, 2012
Chris Voelz is named the second Executive Director to serve the CWSA.

2013
Executive Director Chris Voelz established a multi-year broadcast agreement with CBS Sports, resulting in a live, hour-long national television broadcast of the CWSA awards show. This landmark partnership dramatically expanded the visibility and reach of women’s collegiate athletics while strengthening the organization’s national footprint.

June 30, 2014
‘The Collegiate Women Sports Awards Presented by Honda’ broadcast announcing the winner of the Honda Cup and highlights of the Class airs live for the first time on CBS Sports Network from the University of Southern California Galen Center Founders Room in Los Angeles, Calif. The telecast continues on CBS College Sports to this season.

June 2015
Allyson Fournier (Tufts, softball) becomes the first two-time DIII Woman Athlete of the Year (2013, 2015).

2016
The CWSA celebrates its 40th anniversary. More than 20 past Cup winners join in the live broadcast and two-day event in L.A.

May 24, 2017
CWSA Executive Director Chris Voelz participates in Women Leaders in College Sports “Because of Title IX” campaign.

June 26, 2017
The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) introduces the Dr. Judie Holland Legacy Award. The Dr. Judie Holland Legacy Award is named after the CWSA founder and leader in commemoration of Holland's 36 years of service. The Judie Holland Legacy Award is designed to recognize those who have played a significant role in the success of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards program.

June 21, 2018
The first-ever edition of “Defying the Odds: The Honda Inspiration Award” broadcast airs on CBS Sports Network and highlights the three Honda Inspiration Award finalists.

January 1, 2020
Rachel Garcia, a standout pitcher for UCLA and the Class of 2019 and 2021 Honda Cup winner, represents the CWSA in the 131^st Rose Parade presented by Honda by riding Honda’s kick-off float, “Our Hope for the Future”.

September 2020
American Honda Motor Co., Inc., in conjunction with the CWSA, rolls out the “When She Leads” campaign across social media platforms featuring videos of past Honda Cup winners with inspiring messages.

April 7, 2020
CWSA releases a statement confirming the cancellation of the two-day event due to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Given the commitment we each must make to slow the spread of COVID-19, we are announcing the cancellation of the 2020 Collegiate Women Sports Awards event that was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles in June. This was a consensus decision reached by the Board of Directors in consultation with and the agreement of our long-term presenting partner Honda, our media partner CBS Sports Network, local host OMNI downtown LA, and our broadcast host the University of Southern California.”

June 4, 2020
CWSA releases a statement amidst the global “Black Lives Matter” activist movement. “The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) program was founded in 1976 to recognize the accomplishments of women student-athletes in NCAA-member institutions with a variety of prestigious awards. We are proud of our history of diversity in celebrating women of all races. We stand with the black community who deserve to be heard, respected and valued equally.  We continue to recognize the inherent value of all human beings and to advocate for equality and inclusivity.”

2021
The CWSA celebrates its 45th anniversary and 35th anniversary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. partnership.

September 7, 2021
The CWSA launches “The CWSA Podcast” to celebrate the 45th anniversary and shared over 30 episodes of inspiring stories from past Honda Award winners.

April 19, 2021
Sarah Bacon (Minnesota, swimming & diving) wins the Honda Sport Award for Swimming and Diving becoming the first-ever diver to represent the sport of swimming and diving.

June 28, 2021
Rachel Garcia (UCLA, softball) wins back-to-back Honda Cup honors outright for the first time in CWSA history.

January 18, 2022
Lusia Harris, the first-ever Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and Broderick Cup winner (now Honda Cup) passes away. Harris (66), a former women’s basketball player at Delta State University, won the first award in the 1976-77 academic year.

June 27, 2022
Due to COVID-19, for the first time in two years, the CWSA, in conjunction with AHM, hosts a two-day event in L.A., including a live hour-long broadcast honoring the Class of 2022. Aliyah Boston (South Carolina, basketball) was named the Honda Cup winner for the Class of 2022.

November 29, 2023
The CWSA announces the relocation of the two-day Honda Cup event, the most prestigious awards program for women’s collegiate sports in the nation, to New York, N.Y. Los Angeles had served as the host city since 2013. The live telecast will be hosted in a state-of-the-art CBS studio in the CBS Broadcast Center in NYC.

June, 2023
The CWSA saw its biggest reach in history, reaching over 12 million people in the 24 hours surrounding the 2023 broadcast through CWSA owned social media assets, partner social media impressions and athlete social media engagement. 

June 24, 2024
After winning the Honda Cup for the second straight year, Caitlin Clark, a senior guard from the University of Iowa, becomes only the fourth recipient in history to receive multiple Honda Cups as announced during the broadcast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda on CBS Sports Network, in the CBS Studios in New York City. The awards event debuted in New York City this year after being held in Los Angeles for the previous 10 years.

November 25, 2024
For the first time in 10 years, the CWSA announces new leadership for the Board of Directors. The organization is thrilled to be led into our 50^th anniversary by an accomplished group of professionals.

Patty Viverito, Chair (Commissioner, Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Marie Robbins, Treasurer (Senior Associate Athletics Director Emerita, University of Alabama)
Dr. Amy Wilson, Member (Managing Director of Inclusion, NCAA)
Dr. Christina Munger-Rivera, Member (Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Administrative Officer/SWA, UCLA)
Jeanne Lenti Ponsetto, Past Chair (Athletics Director Emerita, DePaul)

January 26, 2026
CWSA announces the retirement of Executive Director Chris Voelz as of Sept. 1, 2026, after 14 years of leadership.