2026 Al Young Sports Journalism Scholarship
Ends on
Al Young Sports Journalism Scholarship
This scholarship awards $2,500 to an undergraduate student of Asian and/or Pacific Islander descent pursuing sports journalism as a career. Applicants will be judged on academic and journalistic achievement, financial need, a strong commitment to a sports journalism career and dedication to AAJA’s mission.
This year’s scholarship will mark the 11th annual Sports Task Force / Al Young Sports Journalism Scholarship.
Eligibility and Rules
- Must be an active AAJA member
- Must be an undergraduate student enrolled full-time with at least 12 credit units each semester at a junior college or university
- Must be of Asian American and/or Pacific Islander descent
- Must be currently taking or planning to take journalism courses and/or pursuing sports journalism as a career
- Must have a minimum 3.0 GPA
- Must use the scholarship funds to directly support or advance their education. Potential expenses include: tuition, room and board, textbooks or other course equipment or materials. The recipient must follow up with the Sports Task Force within 60 days of receipt of the scholarship to identify how they spent the fund
- Must commit to a minimum of five hours of volunteer work for the AAJA Sports Task Force, preferably before and at the next annual AAJA Convention
Application Requirements
- Resume
- School Transcript
- Journalistic work samples
- Contact information for two references
- In 1,000 words or less, explain why you want this scholarship, why you want to pursue sports journalism/media and how the financial support of this scholarship would help your long-term career goals. The essay should also address the following questions:
- What role or responsibility — if at all — do journalists of color have in today’s press box?
- What makes you stand out from the vast number of other students pursuing sports journalism as a career?
- What are your strengths and what areas do you still need to improve upon as a journalist?
DEADLINE: The application deadline is 11:59PM PT on January 21, 2026. Questions? Email support@aaja.org.
ABOUT AL YOUNG
Al Young is an award-winning journalist who blazed many trails for Asian American sports journalists. Young was the nation’s first Asian American sportswriter at a metro daily newspaper and the first to cover the NFL. He also wrote the first weekly Women’s Sports column in the country, focusing on its athletes, personalities, issues and trends.
Young’s four-decade long career includes positions as a writer and editor at the Boston Globe, USA Today, the New York Daily News, the New Haven (CT) Register and Bridgeport (CT) Post-Telegram.
In 2010, AAJA named Young an “Asian American Pioneer in U.S. journalism.” He is a past president of AAJA’s Washington, D.C. chapter. Following his retirement from the Boston Globe and newspapers at the end of 2012, he was Advisor to “The QC Voice,” the student newspaper at Quincy (MA) College and taught Journalism at Emerson College in Boston. He remains a freelance writer and a media consultant.
ABOUT THE AAJA SPORTS TASK FORCE
The Asian American Journalists Association’s Sports Task Force is pleased to offer several scholarship and fellowship opportunities for enrolled college students and young professionals to support their pursuit of careers in sports journalism and media. The selected fellowship winners must commit to a minimum of five hours of volunteer work for the AAJA Sports Task Force.
The AAJA Sports Task Force elevates the voices of Asian Americans in sports and encourages future Asian American sports journalists through mentorship and scholarship opportunities.
To join AAJA’s Sports Task Force or to find out more about the group, please check the “Sports Task Force” box when becoming an AAJA member at aaja.org/join.