INDIANAPOLIS ---SportsTravel magazine announced the winners of the 2008 SportsTravel Awards at the TEAMS 2008 Conference & Expo held in Pittsburgh. TEAMS: Travel, Events And Management in Sports, is the world’s largest gathering of event organizers and travel planners from the sports industry.  Criteria for nomination and voting included:

•         superior organization of and attendance at the event

•         a superior experience for the competitors and/or spectators at the event

•         how the site or venue served to enhance the event.

The 2008 SportsTravel Award winners are:

Best Collegiate Sports Event Series or Circuit

2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championships, San Antonio, TX

Best Collegiate Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event

2008 NCAA Division I Women’s Gymnastics Championships, Athens, GA

Best Collegiate Single-Sport Event

2008 BCS National Championship Game (LSU vs. Ohio State), New Orleans, LA

Sports Event of the Year

2008 U.S. Open Golf Championship, La Jolla, CA

Best New Sports Event

2008 Ultimate Boarder, Lake Tahoe, CA & Ventura, CA

Best Professional Sports Event Series or Circuit

2007 NFL NFC Championship Playoff Series, Multiple Host Cities

Best Professional Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event

2008 ESPN Winter X Games, Aspen, CO

Best Professional Single-Sport Event

2008 U.S. Open Golf Championship, La Jolla, CA

Best Amateur Sports Event Series or Circuit

2008 USA Softball KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour, Multiple Host Cities

Best Amateur Multi-Sport or Multi-Discipline Event

2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming, Omaha, NE

Best Amateur Single-Sport Event

2008 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, Oklahoma City, OK