Formula for determining winners means fans will influence 10 percent of the award total; sparking new excitement, interest and engagement with their favorite players and schools
Jackson, Miss., (March 4, 2019) – For only the sixth time in the history of the awards, Mississippi hoops fans will have the opportunity to take part in the voting for the C Spire Howell and Gillom Trophies, which annually honor the Magnolia state’s top male and female college basketball players.
C Spire, along with the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum (MSHOF), announced today that fan voting will count for a weighted 10 percent of the 2019 Howell and Gillom Trophy awards. A panel of statewide sports news media will determine the remaining 90 percent of the voting.
“This gives fans a chance to play a part in helping select our state’s best male and female college basketball players,” said Bill Blackwell, executive director of the MSHOF and co-sponsor of the award along with C Spire. “We have seen the support of fan favorites influence the final outcome, so fan voting is very important.”
Fan voting will begin on Tuesday, March 5 at 8:30 a.m. CT ends on Saturday, March 9 at noon CT. By visiting C Spire’s fan voting website, www.cspire.com/howell-gillom, fans can register and vote for their favorite college basketball player by simply providing an email address, mobile number and name. Once an account is created, fans can vote online at the website up to three times per day during the six-day voting period.
The 2019 C Spire Howell and Gillom Trophies will be awarded during a March 11 luncheon program at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Jackson. Among recent Howell Trophy winners are Trey Johnson from Jackson State, Jamont Gordon, two-time winner Jarvis Varnado, Arnett Moultrie and Quinndary Weatherspoon of Mississippi State, Gary Flowers of Southern Miss and Marshall Henderson, Jarvis Summers, Sebastian Saiz and back-to-back winner Stefan Moody, all from Ole Miss.
Past recipients of the C Spire Gillom Trophy, presented since 2008, include Jennifer Rushing and two-time winner Veronica Walker from Delta State, two-time winner Alexis Rack of Mississippi State, Southern Miss’ Jamierra Faulkner and four-time winner Victoria Vivians of Mississippi State.
“College basketball fans across Mississippi are very passionate about their schools and the star players in their respective programs,” said Jim Richmond, vice president of Marketing for C Spire. “We’re excited about continuing to give them the opportunity to vote for their favorite players for the C Spire Howell and Gillom Trophies.”
The top three finalists for the 2019 Howell Trophy include Mississippi State’s senior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, Ole Miss’ junior guard Breenin Tyree and Southern Miss senior guard Cortez Edwards. A trio of Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs led by senior guards Anriel Howard and Jordan Danberry and senior center Teaira McCowan head the list of 2019 finalists for the Gillom Trophy.
The Howell Trophy presented by C Spire is named after Bailey Howell, a two-time All American at Mississippi State University and a six-time NBA All-Star who played on Boston Celtics world championship teams in 1968 and 1969. Howell, a 1977 inductee to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and the first male Mississippi player inducted in the National Basketball Hall of Fame, still holds nearly a dozen season and career records at Mississippi State University.
The Gillom Trophy presented by C Spire is named after Abbeville native Peggie Gillom-Granderson, Ole Miss' all-time leading scorer and rebounder. She has coached in the WNBA and the Olympics and recently retired after a seven-year stint as Associate Head Coach of the Lady Rebels basketball team at Ole Miss.
2019 marks the 24th anniversary of the Outstanding Player Awards presentation. C Spire has served as title sponsor for 22 of those years since 1998. The Conerly Trophy in college football, the Howell Trophy in men’s college basketball, the Gillom Trophy in women’s college basketball and the Ferriss Trophy in college baseball comprise the four elements of the C Spire Outstanding Player Award series.
Tickets starting at $40 each are on sale for the March 11 awards luncheon at MSHOF offices and online. For more information, call 601.982.8264. Former NCAA and NBA head coach Tim Floyd, the son of the late Lee Floyd, a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame after coaching basketball during two different tenures at the University of Southern Mississippi, will be the featured guest speaker.
About C Spire
C Spire is a leading technology company committed to transforming its service areasi through the C Spire Tech Movement initiative, which includes broadband deployment, technology innovation and workforce development. The company provides world-class, customer-inspired wireless communications, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access as well as a full suite of dedicated Internet, wireless, IP Voice, data and cloud services for businesses. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.
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