Cristil Presented Prestigious Lindsey Nelson Award
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Long-time Mississippi State football and basketball play-by-play announcer Jack Cristil was honored Friday by the Knoxville Quarterback Club with the Lindsey Nelson Award, given annually to one of the nation?s premier sports broadcasters.
Cristil received the award at the honors luncheon, held at the Knoxville, Tenn., Marriott Hotel. He was one of several dignitaries honored, joining recipients of the Neyland Award, given to the coach who has contributed the most to college football, the Bob Woodruff Award, which goes to the best athletics administrator, and the George Hunter Award, given annually to a Knoxville QB Club member. Area high school football players and coaches were also feted.
Cristil joins a glittering list of previous award winners of the Lindsey Nelson Award, including ABC play-by-play great Keith Jackson, CBS play-by-play announcer Verne Lundquist, and former college radio play-by-play colleagues Cawood Ledford and John Ward.
Cristil recently completed his 51st season behind the microphone calling Mississippi State football games on the radio. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Cristil has also described MSU basketball games since the 1957-58 campaign. A winner of numerous broadcasting awards during his career, Cristil has received the Chris Schenkel Award (1997), the Ronald Reagan Lifetime Achievement Award, and was the first non-coach/non-athlete to ever be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. He has won the Mississippi Sportscaster of the Year 21 times and was named the Southeastern Conference Broadcaster of the Year in 1988.
Nelson is a University of Tennessee graduate who achieved national recognition during the early years of televised college football. He became the voice of Notre Dame football, was the announcer for New York Mets baseball, and did the Cotton Bowl for at least 25 years. Nelson is in a number of Hall of Fames as a sportscaster.