ESPY Awards


The ESPY Awards is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. From 2015 to 2019, and since 2021, the ceremony has aired live on sister broadcast television network ABC, while ESPN continues to air them in the form of replays. Because of the ceremony's rescheduling prior to the 2002 iteration thereof, awards presented in 2002 were for achievement and performances during the seventeen-plus previous months. As the similarly styled Grammy, Emmy, Academy Award, and Tony, the ESPYs are hosted by a contemporary celebrity; the style, though, is lighter, more relaxed and self-referential than many other awards shows, with comedic sketches usually included.

Charitable role

A portion of the proceeds from sales of tickets to the event devolves on the V Foundation, a charity established by collegiate basketball coach and television commentator Jim Valvano to promote cancer research. Valvano announced the creation of the charitable foundation during his acceptance of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award during the inaugural ESPY telecast on March 3, 1993, 55 days before Valvano's death from metastatic adenocarcinoma.

Design

The ESPY Award statuette was designed and created by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan. The statuette consists of a silver sphere, with the word "ESPY" engraved on it, mounted on a silver pedestal.

Ceremonies

Timing

Between 1993 and 2001, the ceremony was held each year in either February or March and was broadcast recorded on ESPN.
Between 2002 and 2019, from 2022 to 2023, and since 2025, the ceremony has been held on the second or third Wednesday of July, one day after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, as it marks the only day of the year on which none of the major North American professional leagues nor college sports programs have games scheduled. The National Basketball Association, National Football League, and National Hockey League are not in-season, though the NBA's post-draft training camp NBA Summer League is taking place and NFL teams are getting ready for training camp, colleges are in recess for the summer, and MLB does not contest games on the day following its all-star game. Thus, major sports figures except for those in the WNBA, which is in-season; cycling, which has the Tour de France; minor league baseball; and golf, where The Open Championship usually starts that evening, are available to attend. The show historically aired on the subsequent Sunday four days later, although the results were reported publicly by ESPN.com.
In 2024, the ceremony was held on the second Thursday of July.
In 2010, the ceremony was aired live by ESPN for the first time since 2003. In 2015, the ESPY Awards moved to network television, airing on ESPN's corporate sister network ABC.

Location

The first seven editions of the ESPYs were held in New York City—in 1993 and 1994 at Madison Square Garden and from 1995 through 1999, at Radio City Music Hall. The awards relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, for two years beginning in 2000, and ultimately settled at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. In 2006, it was announced that the awards would move in 2008 to the Peacock Theater, to be situated as the West Coast headquarters of ESPN at LA Live, adjacent to the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
In January 2026 it was reported that the ESPYs would move back to New York City in order to coincide with Fanatics Fest, as part of a partnership with Michael Ratner's newly launched Fanatics Studios to produce the ceremony.

Hosts

The ceremonies have been hosted by comedians, television and film actors, and sportspeople. American film actor Samuel L. Jackson is the only individual to have hosted four times. Comedian Dennis Miller, actor and singer Jamie Foxx, and talk show host and comedian Seth Meyers are the only others to have hosted the show more than once.

Year-by-year

Awards

American professional golfer Tiger Woods is the most-honored ESPY recipient, having received 21 awards.

Extant

Cross-cutter categories

Cross-cutter awards are those for which the eligibility is not confined to those sportspersons participating in, or those events occurring in, any single or specific sport.
  • Arthur Ashe Courage Award, presented to the sports-related person or team, irrespective of gender or sport contested, adjudged to have made the most significant or compelling humanitarian contribution in transcendence of sports in a given year
  • Best Female Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the female sportsperson, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the most outstanding over a given year
  • Best Male Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the male sportsperson, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the most outstanding in a given year
  • Best International Athlete ESPY Award, presented since 2006 to the professional sportsperson, irrespective of gender, born outside the United States adjudged to be the best in a given year
  • Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson, irrespective of gender or sport contested, adjudged to have made the best or most significant breakthrough in their sport in a given year
  • Best Championship Performance ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson, irrespective of gender, nationality, or sport contested, adjudged to have made the best or most significant performance in a championship match, series, or tournament in their sport
  • Best Coach/Manager ESPY Award, presented to the coach or manager, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the most outstanding in a given year
  • Best College Athlete, Men's Sports, presented to the male sportsperson, irrespective of sport played, adjudged to be the best in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, in a given year
  • Best College Athlete, Women's Sports, presented to the female sportsperson, irrespective of sport played, adjudged to be the best in the National Collegiate Athletic Association in a given year
  • Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson, irrespective of gender or sport contested, adjudged to have made the most significant or impressive comeback from illness, injury, hardship, retirement, or loss of form
  • Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award, presented to the female sportsperson with a disability, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the best in a given year
  • Best Male Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award, presented to the male sportsperson with a disability, irrespective of nationality or sport contested, adjudged to be the best in a given year
  • Best Game ESPY Award, presented to the single game in a North American professional or collegiate league, irrespective of sport, adjudged to be the best in a given year
  • Best Upset ESPY Award, presented to the sportsperson or team, irrespective of gender or sport contested, adjudged to have completed the best, most impressive, or most significant upset in a given year
  • Best Moment ESPY Award, presented to the moment or series of moments occurring in a sporting event or season, irrespective of sport contested or gender of participating sportsperson, adjudged to the most remarkable, compelling, or entertaining in a given year
  • Best Play ESPY Award, presented to the single play or performance, irrespective of sport contested or gender of participating sportsperson, adjudged to be the most remarkable, significant, or impressive in a given year
  • Best Record-Breaking Performance ESPY Award, presented to the record-breaking single-play, game or season performance, irrespective of sport contested or gender of participating sportsperson, adjudged to be the most remarkable, significant, or impressive in a given year
  • Jimmy V ESPY Award for Perseverance
  • Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award, presented to "an athlete whose continuous, demonstrated leadership has created a measured positive impact on their community through sports"
  • Best Team ESPY Award, presented to the collegiate, professional, or national team, irrespective of sport contested, adjudged to be the most outstanding in a given year

    Individual categories

Individual awards are those for which eligibility is limited to those partaking of a single individual or team sport or specific sport category.