COLORODO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 26, 2017) – USA Volleyball is proud to announce that Janie McCauley, an award-winning Associated Press writer who was assigned the indoor volleyball beat at the 2016 Olympic Games, has been chosen to receive the national governing body’s E. Douglas Boyden Media Recognition Award.
The Boyden Media Award has been presented annually since 1980. McCauley is the second writer from the Associated Press to earn the honor after Anne Peterson was honored in 2013.
“It was an honor and a thrill to cover the close-knit volleyball community last year from the lead up to Rio through the Olympics,” McCauley said. “There were so many special stories behind the scenes with the men’s and women’s U.S. teams. Each embraced me and shared so many of the personal details that make these programs click, from peer evaluations and supporting a mom on the women’s side to a men’s staff that coordinates so well when John Speraw is holding down two posts with USA Volleyball and UCLA. And in Rio, women from Iran seeing their first sporting event inside an arena.”
McCauley began her role as the AP’s Olympic beat writer for indoor volleyball in late 2015. She covered the NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Lincoln, Nebraska, in January 2016 as the U.S. Women qualified for the Rio Games. In addition to reporting the results of the tournament, McCauley interviewed the entire team and staff. She created background material for several articles prominently featured on the AP wire that was picked up by major media outlets leading up to the Olympic Games. Likewise, she interviewed the top U.S. Men’s players in Anaheim for pre-Olympic coverage for the team.
“USA Volleyball is so fortunate to have Janie McCauley as its beat writer for the Associated Press,” USA Volleyball Manager of Communications B.J. Hoeptner Evans said. “Her enthusiasm for sports and the players, coaches and staff who participate is infectious and carries into her writing.”
At the 2016 Olympics, McCauley continued her extensive coverage of indoor volleyball. She wrote recaps for every match of the Olympics – not just the U.S. matches – and created feature content on Team USA athletes and coaches that provided readers an inside angle on the team during the competition.
“Janie has played a key role for USA Volleyball by passing along the stories of our indoor national teams to the world through the Associated Press,” USA Volleyball Senior Manager of Communications Bill Kauffman said. “Janie went well beyond recapping the matches. She provided a view into the lives of the athletes and connected them to the reader in a unique way. Our teams gained new fans with her insightful coverage, while our super fans got to know the players and staff better.”
“Thank you for the thoughtful recognition of work that was a joy to write every step of the way,” McCauley said.
McCauley, a 1998 graduate of Washington State University, joined the Associated Press bureau in Seattle in 2000. She grabbed attention with her thoughtful coverage of Ichiro Suzuki’s rookie year as part of her coverage of the Seattle Mariners. McCauley moved to San Francisco in 2002, and in 2006, she was named AP’s Sports Writer of the Year. She remains based in the Bay Area where she covers the San Francisco 49ers, the San Francisco Giants, the Golden State Warriors among her other beats.
McCauley is no stranger to cover major international events. She has covered three Summer Olympic Games, the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the World Cup in Brazil, a Super Bowl and four World Series. She is married to fellow AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow and they have two daughters, Emma and Lily.