What Is the ESPY Awards Definition
The ESPY Awards are an annual American sports awards show created by ESPN, the sports division of The Walt Disney Company. The name stands for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly. The ceremony honors athletes, teams, and sports moments from the previous year based on fan voting and ESPN editorial selection. The first ceremony took place in 1993 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and the event has since moved between venues including the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The show is typically broadcast on ABC, a Disney-owned network, and is hosted by a prominent entertainer or sports figure each year. For a broader overview of major sports awards, see the explanation of the Heisman Trophy and its criteria here.
Key Categories and Notable Winners
The ESPY Awards include multiple categories that cover professional and collegiate sports, individual performance, and team achievements. The Best Male Athlete and Best Female Athlete awards recognize the top individual competitors, while Best Championship Performance highlights standout moments in major finals and series. Other major categories include Best Breakthrough Athlete, Best Game, Best Play, and Best Sports Moment, which often capture viral or historically significant events. Winners are determined by online fan votes on ESPN.com, making the awards a direct reflection of public opinion rather than a panel decision. The Best U.S. Team category frequently honors squads from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and collegiate conferences that achieved dominant seasons or championships. Recent years have also seen the inclusion of esports and action sports categories, reflecting the broader definition of competitive achievement. For more on how fan-voted sports awards compare to others, see this Forbes breakdown here.
Major Individual and Team Honors
Individual awards such as Best Male Athlete and Best Female Athlete often go to Olympic gold medalists, league MVPs, or record-breaking performers from the previous season. The Best Championship Performance award specifically targets athletes whose actions defined a title-clinching moment, such as a game-winning shot or a decisive pitching performance. On the team side, Best U.S. Team has been awarded to organizations like the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team after World Cup victories and to NBA champions who completed dominant playoff runs. The Best Game category highlights single contests with historic significance, such as overtime classics or perfect games, and is separate from the Best Play award, which focuses on a single athletic moment within any sport. The Best Sports Moment award often overlaps with cultural impact, recognizing achievements that transcend the sport itself, such as a comeback from injury or a milestone record. For details on how the NFL and other leagues define their own season awards, see the official NFL awards page here.
History, Ownership, and Format
The ESPY Awards were created by ESPN and first aired on ABC in 1993, with the inaugural ceremony hosted by actor and comedian Bill Murray. The show was designed to fill a gap in sports television by creating a high-profile, entertainment-driven awards event that combined sports with music and celebrity appearances. Ownership remains with ESPN, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications, with Disney controlling the majority stake. The format has evolved from a single evening in a hangar to a multi-location broadcast that sometimes includes pre-taped acceptance speeches and remote performances. The voting process relies on ESPN's digital platform, where fans select nominees and winners across all categories, and results are announced live during the television broadcast. The ceremony has been postponed or held in different formats during years with major global events, but it has consistently returned as a staple of summer sports programming.