Collegiate Women Sports Awards

The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA), presented by Honda, is proud to announce the launch of its yearlong, nationwide 50^th Anniversary celebration which will culminate with a live national broadcast of the 2026 Collegiate Women Sports Awards presented by Honda on Monday, July 27, 2026, from the CBS Studios in New York City on CBS Sports Network.

As part of the yearlong celebration throughout the fall, winter and spring sports seasons of 2025-26, the CWSA will roll out several commemorative initiatives, including:

• A series of Pop-Up Celebrations on college campuses across the country, engaging the 31 institutions which have produced Honda Cup winners recognized as the Collegiate Woman Athletes of the Year since the 1976-77 season, plus activations at dozens of additional NCAA Division I institutions with a rich history of producing Honda Sport Award honorees, as well as Divisions II and III institutions which have produced NCAA Divisions II and III Honda Collegiate Woman Athletes of the Year.
• Activations at selected multi-team events throughout the 2025-26 fall, winter and spring sports seasons which will be announced as they are confirmed with CWSA allies and partner organizations and associations.)
• Naming CWSA Coaches of the Half-Century to recognize the head coaches of the respective 12 NCAA Division I women’s sports who have coached the most Honda Award winners per sport.
• An historic reunion of past Honda Cup winners in New York City on July 26-27, 2026, which will mark the largest gathering ever of CWSA alumnae and honorees, “the best of the best”, many of whom have gone on to Olympic glory and have become household names over the decades, along with the presentation of the Class of 2026 Honda Award winners.

“During this time of critical transition for intercollegiate athletics, CWSA is proud to continue doing what no other entity does – annually delivering an all-encompassing women’s collegiate sports recognition program that amplifies the inspiring stories of transformational women athletes – and we are excited to celebrate the half-century milestone of a tradition which has helped to blaze a trail for the promising future of women in sport at all levels,” said Chris Voelz, Executive Director of the CWSA.  “We look forward to collaborating over the coming year with so many institutions and organizations across the USA which have been critical to the success of the Honda Cup and Honda Sport Awards program for nearly five decades, yielding over 650 CWSA honors bestowed upon nearly 600 different individuals and a selection of organizations. Celebrating in New York City next summer with the largest gathering ever of the best collegiate female athletes in this half century will epitomize ‘the best of the best’!”

Founded in 1976 as the Broderick Awards during the formative AIAW era of women’s intercollegiate athletics (five years before the NCAA began sponsoring Division I women’s sports), the CWSA remains the only organization solely dedicated to celebrating excellence in women’s collegiate athletics. The program has built a unique legacy, both with the Honda Cup (formerly the Honda-Broderick Up) for the overall Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and initiating Honda Sport Awards as the very first “national player of the year” opportunities for collegiate women before many sport-specific organizations existed. Over time, it has fostered a powerful sisterhood of past winners who exemplify the strength, resilience, and spirit of women in college athletics.

For nearly five decades, the CWSA has honored “the best of the best” in collegiate athletics, recognizing top women student-athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned Division I sports with the prestigious Honda Sport Award. Each Sport Award winner becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the coveted Honda Cup, which will be awarded live during the 2026 broadcast in July. The broadcast will also celebrate the Class of 2026 Division II and Division III Athletes of the Year, the Honda Inspiration Award recipient, the Top Three, and will feature the largest gathering of “the best of the best” women athletes in the program’s half-century history.

Honda has proudly served as the presenting sponsor of the CWSA since 1986, making it one of the longest-standing partnerships in collegiate sports history. This enduring relationship underscores a shared commitment to elevating the voices and accomplishments of women athletes nationwide.

“It has been an honor to be a part of the CWSA program which has been an engine for the growth and recognition of women’s intercollegiate athletics long before it was fashionable or when this enterprise experienced the popularity and profile it enjoys today, “added Patty Viverito, Chair of the CWSA Board of Directors who recently retired after 40 years as Commissioner of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.  “On behalf of the CWSA Board of Directors, we are deeply proud of how our Honda Cup and Honda Sport Award recognition program has grown and reflected the continued expansion and ascension of women’s sports and look forward to launching our next 50 years in New York City next summer.”

For celebration details, or partnership opportunities, please contact:

Patrick Auerbach
Special Advisor & Project Manager, CWSA 50^th Anniversary
pauer.cwsa50@gmail.com l (213) 507-7863

Follow along and celebrate the countdown to 50 with us at the CWSA website and on social media @CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.

CWSA50 #HondaCup #BestOfTheBest

ALL-TIME HONDA CUP WINNERS, 1976-77 – PRESENT

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