UNP author and sports journalist, Ron Thomas, is the recent recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism given by Sport in Society and the Northeastern University School of Journalism.

He is receiving this award based on the articles he has written over the last 38 years, as well as his book, They Cleared the Lane (University Nebraska Press, 2002).

They Cleared the Lane tells the story of what basketball was really like for the first black NBA players, including recent Hall of Fame inductee Earl Lloyd, and early superstars such as Maurice Stokes and Bill Russell.

Sports Illustrated said, “San Francisco sportswriter Ron Thomas has produced a tribute to these [African-American pioneer players] that is full of surprises. . . . The book's most intriguing point is that African-Americans have not only contributed to the game of basketball but also transformed it.”

Congrats Ron!