WHO’S ELIGIBLE?

You must attend a San Antonio/South Texas college/university OR have a permanent residence in the San Antonio/South Texas region, which includes San Antonio, Seguin, New Braunfels and San Marcos. If you’re not sure you qualify, please contact the scholarship coordinator.

• You must be a mass communications/journalism major or have a demonstrated interest in journalism through work samples.
• You must enroll in college full-time (12-hour course load or more per semester) during the academic year for which the scholarship is awarded.  

Here is the application; it includes the complete list of rules. 

DEADLINE

The deadline for applications is April 20, 2026. 

We expect to announce winners no later than May 15, 2026.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Email applications and materials to editor@creativestorystudio.com. Indicate SPJSA Scholarship in the subject line. If you have materials that can’t be sent electronically, please contact the scholarship committee via e-mail for alternate instructions. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications become the property of SPJ.

Questions? Contact Scholarship Committee Director Jeff Cowart at editor@creativestorystudio.com. Please indicate SPJSA Scholarship in the subject line. 

Know a student that would benefit from investigative and data journalism training with IRE? Our upcoming HSI Investigative Journalism Workshop is taking place March 27-28 in San Antonio, Texas. The deadline to apply for a scholarship is Feb. 24.

The workshop is open to students of all backgrounds attending Hispanic-Serving Institutions and to students of color at any institution. Students do not have to be journalism majors, and they do not need to be local to San Antonio. Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, we’re offering funding to help cover registration and some travel costs. 

The funding is first come, first serve until money runs out and will be awarded on a rolling basis now through the end of February as we review applications immediately as we know Spring Break is upon us soon. The application takes 10 minutes to fill out.

INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists supports the Associated Press in its First Amendment right to cover the White House and is disturbed by the Trump administration’s mounting efforts to stifle and intimidate the independent press.

On Tuesday evening, The White House banned two AP reporters from covering two separate White House events because the AP Stylebook did not change its guidance to reflect President Trump’s order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The AP Stylebook continues to refer to the Gulf of Mexico while noting Trump’s decision to rename it.

“The two AP reporters banned from the White House Tuesday evening have no control over the AP Stylebook, but even if they did, it is misguided and a violation of the First Amendment to dictate who has access based on whether you like what they write or report,” said SPJ National President Emily Bloch.

The AP disseminates news worldwide and must use place names and geography that are easily recognizable by all audiences, AP’s Amanda Barrett explains in a statement. The AP Stylebook is taught in most college journalism programs and is used by thousands of journalists and other writers globally.

“SPJ acknowledges that freedom of the press has been under attack for many administrations – not just the current one,” Bloch noted. “But now is the time to end petty bans of reporters, frivolous lawsuits against news organizations and other actions that serve to prevent information from getting to the American people.”

SPJ champions journalists by recognizing outstanding achievement, fighting to protect press freedom, promoting high ethical standards and educating new generations of emerging professionals. Support excellent journalism and fight for your right to know. Become a member and give to the Legal Defense Fund, First Amendment Forever Fund or SPJ Foundation.

That’s right, folks, we did it again! Thanks to you, our faithful never-say-die fans, we once again raised funds for scholarships for deserving students from across the area, those truthtellers in training, and, boy, are we going to need them!

The big day was Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, and we had not just one but TWO daring performances on that beautiful Buena Vista Theater stage at the downtown campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio. We had crowds at both shows!

The turnouts were lively and enthusiastic, and we don’t think it was just the gin juice. 😁

There was so much election year madness and Gridgerton-ness and all kinds of mayhem — it was a bounty of boisterous bedlam to beat all!

Missed the fun? Not to worry; we’re already planning this year’s Gridiron. And it’s gonna be a BIG one. It’s been 40 years (we think) since we had our first Gridiron. Can’t wait to see what our intrepid band of anonymous writers comes up with for this historic event. Scandalous skits, daring dancing, impetuous improv — the sky’s the limit!

Details will be coming soon so keep 👁👁 on this space.

And if you just can’t wait to start helping the next generation of truthtellers (yes, we’re talking about the students again), you can donate right here right now! We know they appreciate it.

The show, which has been going on for longer than some of our volunteer stagehands have been alive

A big thank you!

It was absolutely crazy! And we have all of you fantastic fans who turned out (daring people that you are) to thank for that. We had a great time — we heard you did, too — and raised funds for scholarships.

We had a fine crowd for both the matinee and the evening shows, with plenty of VIPs. Celebrity watchers got an eyeful!

In 2022, the highlight of the show was “Thriller,” fitting since it was Halloween weekend. In 2023, it was the gritorious opening extravaganza with excellent UTSA mariachi performers and our own Nora Lopez as the lead singer for a one-of-a-kind “Gridiron Loco,” perfectly suited for the day of our performances that year, Saturday, Sept. 16, el dieciséis de septiembre!

For those who enjoy Memory Lane, here are photos from Gridiron 2022: