Jeff Hawkins

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than three decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. He is also the author of several youth books about basketball, baseball, and hockey.

Jeff earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR’s increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.

Jeff counts the late Shelby Strother (Detroit News columnist) and Mitch Albom (Detroit Free Press columnist) as main influences on his own writing. His hobbies include 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., mountain bike riding, and attending live music events. See more from Jeff at CBS Sports, FanSided, and USA Hockey.