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Ethan Hulsey writes a lot of stories about the success of Millersville University’s 19 athletic teams. Recently, Hulsey, the University’s director of athletic communications, received two national awards for his writing.
Both awards are from the 2023-24 Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest hosted by College Sports Communications. Hulsey placed first in the Event Coverage for his article on the MU men’s golf team, and he won first place for his article about the football team in the Season Recap/Preview category.
Ethan recalls his experience writing the article about the golf team, highlighting how difficult it is to cover the sport, especially on a quick deadline with no drafts or edits. He mentions sitting in a Panera Bread with his 11-year-old daughter, waiting for him to finish writing the article.
“It is one thing to sit down and toil over a feature story for days,” says Hulsey. “It is another thing to write immediately after an event, knowing that the news needs to get out to the public and get to the newspapers and TV stations before their deadline.”
Ethan submitted these specific articles because of the energy and teamwork he found in the success of the football team’s first week of practice and the difficulty in his coverage of the golf team. Both articles showed coverage that differed from a typical article, which made him stand out from the other candidates.
Hulsey was surprised when he got the email that listed the winners.
“I was sitting on my couch and clicked through the email and saw my name pop up twice. It was a nice surprise,” says Hulsey.
To enter the contest, the candidates submitted stories to the specific category. Then, a committee of judges ranked the stories at the district level, and those ranked higher went on to the national level. Hulsey shared some tips that helped him win his national awards to those interested in applying:
“Look beyond the obvious,” says Hulsey. “Find one moment, one play or one athlete that exemplifies the full story. Specific details matter. Proofread.”
As a long-time member of College Sports Communicators, Hulsey has entered the contest every year since 2019, winning seven awards at the district level. This is the first year he won a national award.
“There is nothing more professionally rewarding than writing a story that people enjoy reading,” says Hulsey.
