About this Event
Join us for the 2021 Pathfinder Award in support of the Indiana Sports Corp mission. This annual fundraising event will be held virtually on Thursday, April 1 from 4:30-6:00 PM ET. Indiana Sports Corp will recognize this year’s Inspiring Sports Storyteller, Malcolm Moran, as well as honor Tom Jernstedt, this year’s Pathfinder Award recipient and “Father of the Final Four”, who passed away in 2020.

Indiana Sports Corp Membership & Fan Shirt Gift Bonus
Become a member and receive a unique, long sleeve, cotton fan shirt! Membership Package available during registration.

Sponsorship
For sponsorship information, please contact Mike Karnuta at mkarnuta@indianasportscorp.org or (317) 237-5004.

This event is an important fundraiser in support of Indiana Sports Corp’s community-building mission and efforts to create positive impact by hosting world-class sporting events. Thank you for your support!

Inspiring Sports Storyteller – Malcolm Moran
Malcolm Moran has been a Professor of Practice at IUPUI, where he directs the Sports Capital Journalism Program in the Department of Journalism and Public Relations, since 2013. From 2006 through 2012 Moran was the Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society at Penn State University and was inaugural director of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, the first center for sports journalism in the nation.

He worked at The New York Times for 19 years and also worked at USA TODAY, Newsday and the Chicago Tribune.

In his role as a reporter and columnist, he has covered the NCAA Final Four since 1979 and bowl games with championship implications since 1980. His IUPUI students have covered the Final Four and national championship college football games since 2013. He has covered four Olympic Games.

His work appeared in the anthology “Best Sports Stories” and has been recognized by the United States Basketball Writers Association and the Football Writers of America. He has been executive director of the USBWA since 2019.

In 2007 he was awarded the Curt Gowdy Print Media Award for outstanding lifetime coverage of basketball by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Pathfinder Award – Tom Jernstedt (In Memoriam)
Thomas Walter Jernstedt was born on November 24th, 1944 in McMinnville, Oregon and raised in nearby Carlton, Oregon. Being named all-state in basketball, baseball and football throughout high school led Tom to earning a scholarship to the University of Oregon, where he took on the role of back-up quarterback at the University of Oregon. Being a backup quarterback changed Tom’s life. After not seeing the playing field much, Tom started helping within the Oregon Athletic Department where he helped recruit high school athletes when they visited the University of Oregon. In 1969, at the request of his former football coach and then Athletic Director, Len Casanova, Tom returned to the University to run events. In 1972, after successfully organizing the 1972 Track and Field Championships at the University of Oregon, Tom was hired by the NCAA as an event director. In addition to running the men’s basketball tournament, Tom oversaw other NCAA Tournaments and helped develop the women’s basketball tournament. During his time in sports, Tom was a tireless advocate for men and women student-athletes across all sports.

Tom was a passionate leader and administrator whose connection with many impacted countless lives and careers. Many people described Tom as the type of person to make time for everyone, thoughtful, respectful, likable and honest. He was often said to be a silent power who “carried a big stick, but never used it”. One of Tom’s most prized career accomplishments was turning the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament into something much bigger than it was ever anticipated to be, including adding teams and striking multi-million-dollar TV deals for the tournament.

Throughout his 38-year career, Tom served on many boards of directors and committees that include the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; United States Olympic Committee; United States-International University Sports Federation; Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association; Federation of International Basketball Association; and the University of Oregon Alumni Association as well as serving as the President of USA Basketball from 2001-2004. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame awarded Tom the John Bunn award (2001) which is the highest honor given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame recognizing an individual who has contributed significantly to the sport of basketball. He went on to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the United Sports Academy and the Bill McGowan Leadership Award from the Indiana Convention and Visitors Association (2007) in the same year. USA Basketball then awarded him the Edward S. Steitz award (2009) which recognizes an individual for his or her valuable contributions to international basketball. Tom was eventually inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (2010) and then inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2019) and finally inducted into the State of Oregon’s Sports Hall of Fame (2020).

In his personal life Tom was a father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and true friend. He was the husband of Kristine Kellam Jernstedt and father of 3 children Cole, Derek and Jaci. Tom will always have a lasting impact on college sports, but more specifically college basketball and the tournament we all know now as – March Madness.