Each year, The University of Alabama honors one recipient with a strong connection to Alabama and whose writings, like those of the award’s namesake, have made a critical contribution to journalism and the literature of the South.

Lars Anderson

Lars Anderson has been a member of the Department of Journalism and Creative Media faculty since 2011, where he teaches highly popular courses in sports writing and journalism ethics.

A prolific author, Anderson has written extensively on the world of football. His works include “The Mannings: The Fall and Rise of a Football Family”, a New York Times bestseller (2016); “The Quarterback Whisperer: The Bruce Arians Story” (2017); and “The Truth About Aaron” (2018), which chronicles the tragic life of Aaron Hernandez. In 2021, he published “A Season in the Sun: Bruce Arians, Tom Brady, and the Making of a Champion.”

The culture and drama of SEC football are among Anderson’s favorite subjects. His 2014 New York Times bestseller, “The Storm and the Tide”, explores how the 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado inspired the Alabama Crimson Tide. He has also written “Chasing the Bear” (2019), which examines the challenges of succeeding legendary coach Bear Bryant, and “Dabo’s World” (2021), a deep dive into the life and coaching philosophy of Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.

Anderson’s storytelling extends beyond books. He has written dozens of features for Bleacher Report and CNN.com, and his award-winning feature “Death of a Teenage Quarterback” earned the APSE award for top national feature and was included in “The Best American Sports Writing.”

His creativity reaches into media production as well. Anderson is the co-founder of Sky High Studios with meteorologist James Spann, co-host of The Big Noon Sports Radio Show, and previously spent four years on-air alongside sports commentator Jay Barker. In 2016, he co-wrote the Showtime documentary “Running for His Life: The Lawrence Phillips Story” with Armen Keteyian.

Before joining The University of Alabama faculty, Anderson spent two decades with Sports Illustrated (1994–2014), writing more than 24 cover stories. His reporting spanned NASCAR, basketball, Major League Baseball, soccer, and beyond. His earlier books have covered topics as diverse as Red Grange, historic Army-Navy matchups, street basketball, and Scotland’s Claymores football team.

Remarkably, five of Anderson’s 12 books have been optioned for film.

A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Anderson graduated cum laude from St. Olaf College in 1993 and went on to earn his Master of Science from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism as a Hertzberg Fellow and Reader’s Digest Scholar.

Despite this impressive body of work, Anderson’s career is far from slowing down. His next release, “Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness”, will be coming from MacMillan in August 2026. He is the father of three children—Lincoln, Autumn, and Farah.

The Cason Tradition

Clarence E. Cason (1896-1935) was the first chair of The University of Alabama’s Department of Journalism, founded in 1928. He brought to the Capstone the highest professional and academic standards. A 1917 graduate of the University, he earned a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin before returning to his alma mater. He wrote for many distinguished newspapers and magazines, a practice he continued as a University of Alabama professor.

Cason argued that universities should educate aspiring journalists to be intellectually and professionally efficient. He wanted the Department of Journalism to participate actively in academic life while elevating its discipline to a respected place among the liberal arts.

Cason enjoyed the respect of professional journalists, who considered him to be one of their own.

Indeed, the crowning achievement of his career, just prior to his death in 1935, was the publication of his book, 90 Degrees in the Shade, in which he looked critically but lovingly at his native state and region. The University of Alabama Press republished the book in 1983.

Thanks to the efforts of the late journalism professor Bailey Thompson, The University of Alabama honors the legacy and spirit of Clarence Cason with its award for distinguished nonfiction writing.

Each year, the University bestows this honor upon a recipient with a strong connection to Alabama and whose writings, like those of the award’s namesake, have made a critical contribution to the journalism and literature of the South.