Sept. 21, 2011
A native of Westwood, Mass., Jackie MacMullan is among the most well known writers, authors and television personalities covering the NBA.
Currently, she is an NBA columnist for ESPN.com and is a regular on ESPN's daily program, Around the Horn.
What flies under the radar is her devotion to youth sports in the Westford, Mass. community.
Ms. MacMullan will receive the For the Love of Sports Award Friday night, Sept. 30 (6:30) at the inaugural Dream of Perfect Games: A Celebration of Sport ceremony at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center.
Tickets cost $50 and can be purchased by calling the Department of Athletics at 978-934-2310 or by e-mailing amy_judge@uml.edu.
Proceeds from the event will benefit UMass Lowell scholarships and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The For the Love of Sports Award is presented to individuals and/or groups in the Merrimack Valley whose love of sports has produced a lasting impact on others.
Ms. MacMullan joined The Boston Globe after graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1982 and remained there until 1995, when she left to cover the NBA as a senior writer at Sports Illustrated.
She returned to The Globe in 2000 and remained until 2008, when she joined ESPN. com.
Ms. MacMullan penned her first book in 1999 with Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, entitled Bird Watching: on Playing and Coaching the Game I Love. She went on to publish Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection in 2006, on head coach Geno Auriemma and the University of Connecticut women's basketball team.
Ms. MacMullan wrote When the Game Was Ours, on the rivalry between Bird and Magic Johnson, in 2009. Her fourth book, Shaq Uncut: The Autobiography, is set for release this fall.
UMass Lowell's For the Love of Sports Award is Ms. MacMullan's latest honor in recent years. On May 12, 2010, she became the first female to receive the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, presented to members of print and electronic media for significant contributions to the game of basketball.
"I'm so honored to be recognized by UMass Lowell," Ms. MacMullan said. "I love the area and all the opportunities it has afforded myself and my family. We have enjoyed many athletic activities at the University through the years, including field hockey and men and women's basketball games."
Ms. MacMullan was a basketball standout at the University of New Hampshire from 1978-82 where she graduated fourth among career rebound leaders. She led the Wildcats to a four-year clip of 59-31 and to the 1980 EAIAW Championship game.
She received her degree in English with a concentration in non-fiction writing and minored in political science. Prior, Ms. MacMullan graduated from Westwood H.S. where she played for Kathy Delaney Smith, currently the head coach at Harvard.
Ms. MacMullan and her husband, Michael Boyle, have been very active within the Westford Youth Basketball Association as coaches for many recreational girls and boys teams. She also served on the WYBA Board of Directors for several years.
Ms. MacMullan and her husband reside in Westford, Mass. They have raised two children: Aly, a sophomore and a member of the women's basketball team at Connecticut College; and Doug, a freshman at Westford Academy.
