ST. LOUIS – UVM men's basketball graduate Josh Speidel '20 has been selected to receive the Musial Award for Extraordinary Sportsmanship. Named after baseball great Stan Musial, the Musial Awards celebrate the year's greatest moments of sportsmanship and those in sports who embody class and character. The announcement was made on Monday.
 
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Musial Awards: Release
CatamounTV: Speidel Opens Scoring on Senior Night
 
The Musial Awards take place annually at the Stifel Theatre in St. Louis, and were scheduled this year for Nov. 21, the exact date of Musial's 100th birthday. However, due to the global pandemic, the live event is unable to occur. Instead, the show will go on in the form of a one-hour special that will air nationally on CBS on Saturday, Dec. 26, and Speidel will be honored in the broadcast. A segment is being produced for the show profiling Speidel's perseverance and the inspiration he has provided for so many. The piece will include interviews with Speidel, his family, and members of the UVM athletic department.
 
In February of 2015, Speidel was involved in a devastating car crash during his senior year at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Indiana. The crash left him with a traumatic brain injury, and the doctors told his family he would live in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. Prior to the accident, Speidel was one of the top high school basketball players in the state of Indiana.
 
After a five-year journey of recovery, Speidel got to live his dream of playing in a college basketball game last March on Senior Night. Thanks to an agreement between UVM and UAlbany, he was introduced in the starting lineup and scored Vermont's first basket of the game. Following the inspirational moment, Speidel's story was featured by countless media outlets including ESPN College GameDay, the CBS Evening News, the Today Show, The Athletic, CNN, and The New York Times.
 
Speidel graduated with a bachelor's degree in education through an individually-designed major. He also completed minors in behavioral change and coaching. He finished his time at the University with a 3.37 grade point average. 
 
Earlier this summer, the Columbus, Indiana native won UVM's Katherine Anne Kelly Award. The award recognizes a graduating senior who best exemplifies Kate's ability to bravely battle very serious medical challenges while still graduating and engaging in UVM student life with passion, energy, and a smile. The award honors Katherine Anne Kelly, Class of 2000, who passed away in 2014 following a heroic battle with Cystic Fibrosis. In June, Speidel was also the second-ever honoree of America East's Inspiration Award.
 
Speidel's Senior Night moment will be celebrated along with baseball legend Hank Aaron, who is the recipient of the Musial Lifetime Achievement Award for Sportsmanship, and NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace who will receive the Musial Award for Extraordinary Character. The Musial Awards have taken place in St. Louis since 2005. The event is produced by the St. Louis Sports Commission and the National Sportsmanship Foundation. In addition to keeping the legacy of Stan The Man alive, the mission of the Musial Awards is to encourage kindness, selflessness, integrity and civility in sports and society – and to inspire people across the nation to be good sports.
 
Key Motors of South Burlington is the presenting sponsor of the 2020-21 Vermont men's basketball season