Seniors Ben Horwitz and Liz Kantack named Frank Deford Award winners

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Seniors Ben Horwitz (Woodbridge, CT) and Liz Kantack (Jackson, NH)) were named winners of the 20th Frank Deford Award on April 20th in Griffin 3 at Williams College.

On hand to present the 20th Deford Award and to address the gathering was Williams alum Sam Flood. Flood '83 is the Coordinating Producer of Sports at NBC and a former Eph ice hockey captain.

The Deford Award, believed to be the only award of its kind in the nation, honors the top student assistant(s) in the Williams College Sports Information Office.

Horwitz has worked for Williams Sports Information for 3 ½ years developed into an integral member of the stat crews that worked the football, men's and women's basketball and baseball games He is a four year-letterman in baseball and a co-captain of this year's Eph nine that sports a 17-7 record and has won 17 of its last 19 games. "Reliability is key when working in Sports Information and Ben never missed an assignment and he even postponed celebrating Canada's Thanksgiving to fulfill his obligations," noted Eph SID Dick Quinn. Horwitz will be moving east at the end of the summer to teach English in the Canary Islands, but he may stop in Rome for the World Swimming Championships to work for NBC just before his teaching duties commence.

Liz Kantack was a stellar performer in sports information for two years covering skiing and men's and women's crew. Kantack lettered in Nordic skiing for four years and crew for three years. "I still remember when Liz walked into my office, not to complain about the skiing and crew articles, but to suggest she could do a better job," recalled Quinn. "She knew of what she spoke, because she elevated the coverage of both teams to heights never before seen and parents and alums were overjoyed at her efforts." Kantack will be joining Overland in Williamstown to conduct two summer tours (Rocky Mountains and Alaska) for youths and then she will work out of the Overland office planning future trips.

The personable Flood spoke about the "Game of Sports TV" and told several stories from throughout his career that Williams had prepared him for. "I'm a firm believer that liberal arts grads have a better feel for problem solving and getting things done than many who majored in broadcasting," said Flood. Highlighting his appreciation of the liberal arts education Flood noted that some 30 Williams people have worked for him over the years or completed academic internships. He strongly urged the Williams students in the audience to get the most out of their time at Williams and to take a class in something that they did not think they would ever study because this is the time to learn as much as you can before entering the real world.

Flood's career has seen him work at ABC Sports, CNN Sports and at NBC Sports where he is a 10-time Emmy award winner. Most recently Flood produced the track & field events at the Beijing Olympics, Football Night in America, the 5-hour Super Bowl pre-game show and this weekend he will be in Louisville to produce his fourth Kentucky Derby.