Tammy Blackburn Honored at Women's Fund Luncheon

SAN DIEGO – At Tuesday's SDSU Athletics Women's Fund Luncheon, Tammy Blackburn was awarded the inaugural Aztec Impact on Women in Sports Award.
 
Blackburn, a former Aztec basketball student-athlete and SDSU's current Senior Director of Marketing and Communications for University Relations and Development, was recognized for her inspiration, perseverance and for the giant impact she has had elevating women in sports.
  
After being a four-year starter on the basketball team, Blackburn's passion for SDSU and women in sports continued. She has served as a women's national sports broadcaster for women's basketball, volleyball, and men's and women's soccer and she has been as a color analyst for the Mountain West Network, Pac-12 Networks Fox Sports, ESPN, and PBS. 
 
Blackburn has brokered relationships between SDSU Alumni and Athletics for attendance at SDSU games throughout her nearly 30-year career at SDSU. 
 
"Tammy's dedication to sharing the game has exposed hundreds of thousands to quality women's sports broadcasts," Jenny Bramer, SDSU's Executive Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator praised. "She says yes to all athletics requests, including emceeing, which helps us and allows our student-athletes and audiences to see an impressive woman in sports." 
 
In recent years, Blackburn's courage has been on full display. She was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2017 and went into remission after treatment. She then learned that her cancer had returned and spread in January of 2019, and was diagnosed with stage four, or metastatic, breast cancer. Despite her difficult diagnosis and on-going treatment, Blackburn has continued to be an inspirational role model with her positivity and dedication.
 
Last season, Blackburn developed the "Buck-A-Board Challenge," in which she donated $1 for every rebound during the seven women's basketball games she called during February of 2023. The fundraiser, which drew support from several Pac-12 coaches, referees, players, and fans, raised more than $29,000 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
 
With the wisdom of her own cancer journey, Blackburn has used her fundraising skills and her compassionate heart to establish the SDSU Courage Through Cancer Fund to support students while they and their families manage cancer. 
 
The Aztec women's basketball team annually provides the Tammy Blackburn Award to the player who epitomizes loyalty, effort, athletic prowess, and team spirit; qualities that Blackburn continues to exemplify and model for others.
 
The women's basketball coaches of the Pac-12 also created the Tammy Blackburn Inspiration Award this year to be awarded to a Pac-12 women's basketball student-athlete, coach or staff member who exhibits courage, resilience, and unbreakable spirit in overcoming adversity in their life.
 
The SDSU Athletics Women's Fund directly supports female student-athletes through raising awareness and financial support to achieve and maintain excellence across all women's programs, Furthermore, the creation of this fund will enhance the academic and athletic resources for our female student-athletes, and will assist with scholarship support, facility updates, and other annual program needs.