Print journalist wins NCAA national scholarship

By Kevin O’Brien

For journalism major Ryan Brinks, one of the best parts about winning the 2002 NCAA Scholarship, besides the $3,000, was getting his name and photo in the program for the men’s basketball tournament.

“Yeah, I’m in the program for the Final Four,” he said with a smile. “They said they’d send me one, but I haven’t gotten it yet.”

Brinks was one of only eight contestants nationwide who received the scholarship, an award that is given out annually to sports journalism students.

To get into the running for the scholarship, he had to send in an application, resume, and three clips of his work.

The most memorable article he sent in involved an interview with Minnesota Vikings backup quarterback Todd Baumann, who visited Marshall, Minn. to guest coach a group of elementary and middle school students at a summer camp.

At the time, Brinks was working as a news and sports reporter for the Marshall Independent and was assigned to cover Baumann’s return as a locally born hero.

Interviewing someone who plays with such legends as Randy Moss and Cris Carter was a unique experience for Brinks.

“At first it was a little intimidating,” he said. “But he was really easy to talk to and he was interested in talking.”

It helped that Brinks wasn’t the only one in the interview who was facing a new experience.

“I focused on his thoughts on coming into training camp for the first time as a backup quarterback,” Brinks said. “If the quarterback went down, he would have to be the one to go out there.”

In addition to interning at the Marshall Independent, Brinks previously worked with the Murray County News in his hometown of Slayton, Minn during his fours years of high school.

“Being under a daily deadline with the opportunity to cover stories of that magnitude is probably one of the things that probably helped me win the scholarship,” Brinks said. “Having reported on sports since I was a freshman in high school for a pro paper has really helped.”

Having those experiences at a relatively young age “boosted my interested in journalism and helped me build a foundation in writing.”

Dana Yost, editor-of-the-chief of the Marshall Independent, said there were three main reasons why Brinks distinguishes himself from other reporters.

“First of all, he was always upbeat and positive,” Yost said. “Interns tend to get a lot of the grunt work, and he was very good at taking a nothing story and making it really interesting.”

Yost also appreciated Brinks’s ability to build a story in a good “journalistic fashion” and incorporate his understanding of sports.

Another requirement for the scholarship was to write an essay on the controversial issue of using Native American names and images as sports logos and mascots.

Brinks also appreciates the experience and hands-on education he has received at UW-River Falls, especially working as the sports editor for the Student Voice and writing stories for Sports Information.

Above all, Brinks believes his spiritual faith has helped him succeed in sports journalism.

“I attribute a lot of my talents to God,” Brinks said. “He has blessed me with the ability to write and the opportunities that come with that.”