Penn State women’s volleyball head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley has been named the recipient of the 2025 Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, ESPN announced Monday.

What an honor. Thank you. https://t.co/4LVTDWfa2q

— Katie Schumacher-Cawley (@CoachKatiePSU) June 30, 2025

The Jimmy V Award, named after former NC State men’s basketball coach Jim Valvano, is given at the ESPYs annually to a sports figure who has fought through obstacles.

In December, Schumacher-Cawley became the first female head coach to win a Division I women’s volleyball national title, when the Nittany Lions stunned Nebraska in the semifinals and went on to defeat Louisville in the championship.

In October, shortly after the season began, the then-44-year-old announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but remained on the blue and white’s sideline and didn’t miss a game despite receiving medical treatment.

About four months after her diagnosis and less than two months after leading Penn State to its eighth national championship, Schumacher-Cawley rang the bell to signify the completion of chemotherapy.

Former winners of the Jimmy V Award include Dawn Staley, Dick Vitale, Stuart Scott, and Eric LeGrand.

Along with the Jimmy V Award, ESPN also announced Oscar Robertson will be awarded the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage and Los Angeles first responders David Walters and Erin Regan will win the Pat Tillman Award for Service.

Schumacher-Cawley will be officially recognized at the ESPYs at 8 p.m. July 16 at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The award show will be televised on ABC.

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