The following has been adapted from a news release originally published by Indiana Sports Corp here.
Indiana Sports Corp will present the 2024 Tom Jernstedt Lifetime Achievement Award to Jim Host and will posthumously honor Gene Corrigan for their distinguished professional careers dedicated to the advancement of Division I men’s basketball.
The Tom Jernstedt Lifetime Achievement Award was created in 2023 to honor those who best exemplify the leadership and service demonstrated by Jernstedt during his 38-year tenure at the NCAA, and who have made a meaningful impact on college basketball.
Jim Host was a trailblazer in college sports marketing by pioneering the concept of bundled licensing, which encouraged corporate partners to become official sponsors of athletic programs across media formats. He was founder and CEO of Host Communications, a collegiate sports marketing and production services company, that first bought the radio broadcast rights to University of Kentucky basketball in 1974 and was awarded the rights for the NCAA Radio Network in advance of the 1976 championship. Six years later, Host Communications would co-produce the NCAA Radio Network with CBS Radio. The radio deal marked the beginning of a decades-long business relationship with the NCAA. Host is credited with starting what is now called the NCAA’s Corporate Partner and Champion program in 1983, and two years later the first collegiate corporate marketing program was in place.
Host is a recipient of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Chairman’s Cup Award and is a lifetime trustee. Host retired and officially stepped down from Host Communications in 2003 before the organization was purchased by IMG in 2008.
Host and Corrigan were honored at the 2024 Men’s Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona on Monday, April 8 while fans, former colleagues, and friends celebrate the life of Tom Jernstedt - the “Father of the Final Four.”