Deadline Nears for Ron Balicki Scholarship - for Aspiring Golf Journalists

(RELEASE) - The Ron Balicki Scholarship for aspiring golf journalists is dedicated to the memory of Ron Balicki for his lifelong commitment to covering the game of golf.

Few individuals have done more to bring exposure to college golf than Balicki, who passed away in 2014 after a battle with cancer. Since practically inventing the college golf beat while at Golfweek in 1983, Balicki became part of the fabric of the college and amateur game. He covered his first golf tournament in 1980 while with the Florida Daily News. He won first-place and third-place in Golf Association of America writing contests and won four first-place and numerous honorable mention awards with the International Network of Golf. Balicki also won three first-place awards from the Texas Golf Writers Association. He was a winner of the Golf Writer’s Association of America Jimmy D’Angelo Award and the Northwest Florida Sports Association’s Al Byrne Award, both of which are presented to a person for contributions, devotion and service to the organization and the community. In 2016, he was named to the Emerald Coast’s All Sports Hall of Fame in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., where he worked as a newspaper sports editor before joining Golfweek.

A 2010 inductee into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame, Balicki covered every NCAA Championship dating back to 1985 and every GCAA National Convention since its inception until 2013, when the cancer that claimed his life prevented him from traveling. Dubbed "Wrong Ron" for his propensity to incorrectly pick the winner of the NCAA Championships and playfully teased for his uncanny ability to bring the rain with him to events he covered, Balicki was truly fond of the sport and people he covered and was loved back by the players, coaches and everyone involved with college golf. Truly one of the kindest men one could ever meet, Ron is greatly missed.

The first Ron Balicki Scholarship will be awarded for the spring 2018 semester; a $2,500 grant will be awarded to a deserving student. Beginning for the 2018-19 academic year, $5,000 will be awarded. Any college/university student at the undergraduate or graduate level or high school journalist may apply for consideration.

Follow this link for the nomination form: http://collegiategolf.com/misc/ron-balicki-scholarship-2579.html