Berman, Packer, Halberstam, Smith Top 2015 NSSA Awards

SALISBURY, N.C., Jan. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Chris Berman, Billy Packer, the late David Halberstam and Gary Smith headline the 2016 honorees for the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's Hall of Fame. They will be inducted during the 57^th Annual NSSA Awards Weekend, June 18-20, in Salisbury, N.C. The Hall of Famers will be honored, along with National Sportscaster of the Year Mike Emrick, National Sportswriter of the Year Tom Verducci and 104 state Sportscasters and Sportswriters of the Year.

Berman is synonymous with ESPN, having started with the cable sports network one month after its inception in 1979. Whether hosting a pregame show, calling play-by-play, or describing highlights, Berman's unique style has made him one of the most popular figures on sports television. He is a six-time NSSA National Sportscaster of the Year.

After playing and coaching college basketball, Packer started his color commentary career in 1972, as a fill-in on the ACC network. He became a regular the next season, went on to call games for NBC from 1974-1981, then moved to CBS, where he was the primary college basketball analyst from 1981-2008.

Halberstam moved to sportswriting after a successful newspaper career that included a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1964. Best known for his coverage of the Vietnam War, politics and history, Halberstam wrote seven books on sports, including "Summer of '49" (#1 on New York Times Best Seller list). He was killed in a traffic accident in 2007.

Smith retired from Sports Illustrated in 2014, after a 32-year career there that saw him recognized as one of sportswriting's pre-eminent long form feature writers. Four of his stories won a National Magazine Award. and 13 were part of the "Best American Sports Writing" anthologies.

Emrick has won three straight National Sportscaster of the Year awards. NBC Sports' lead NHL play-by-play voice has called everything from the International Hockey League to the Stanley Cup Finals to the Olympics in a career that has spanned more than 40 years.

Verducci, Sports Illustrated and SI.com senior writer, repeats as National Sportswriter of the Year. He has served as the magazine's lead baseball writer for more than a decade, and has served as a television analyst and reporter on the MLB Network, TBS and FOX.

For a complete list of state winners, visit www.nssafame.com.

CONTACT: Dave Goren, 704-633-4275 x-1, [email protected]

SOURCE National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association

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