The Atlanta Tipoff Club, administrators of the prestigious Naismith Awards, announced it has teamed up with Jersey Mike’s Subs to open nominations for the 2023 Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award. School officials, athletic directors, coaches, and teachers can nominate deserving basketball student-athletes starting today via https://www.astudentabove.com/. The deadline for nominations is Jan. 20, 2023.

The 10 most inspirational students will be selected as finalists, with two grand prize winners being chosen by a Board of Selectors, which includes journalists, former Naismith winners, and Atlanta Tipoff Club board members. The committee is looking for high school basketball players who have consistently gone above and beyond throughout the basketball season and demonstrated courage in their approach to the team, school, game, and community.  

“We believe that the power of sports, particularly high school basketball, can bring out the best in people and allow them to showcase how they’ve overcome some type of adversity,” says Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “We know many courageous students exist across the country, and we want to recognize and celebrate those individuals.”

 “Each year, we have the privilege of reviewing thousands of stories of courage from young student-athletes across the country,” adds Rich Hope, chief marketing officer, Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, Inc. “Their examples of resilience on and off the basketball court inspire us all, and we look forward to reading this year’s nominations.”

The top two grand prize winners will each receive $2,000, and an additional $2,000 will be donated to each winner’s school. They will also be presented with an award during an on-campus ceremony, as well as a video tribute telling their stories. Finalists and winners will be evenly divided between male and female candidates.

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