Gridiron is presented by the Kansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and its purpose is to raise money for journalism scholarships for Kansas college students. For 2023-24, SPJ awarded $13,500 in scholarships.

Download an application for 2024-25 scholarships here. Applications are due 11:59 p.m. March 9, 2024.

General eligibility requirements: Come Fall 2024, you must be a sophomore, junior or senior (by hours) enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at an accredited college or university in Kansas. You must have and maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA. You must be seriously considering a career in journalism.

Scholarships include but are not limited to the following (Note: Scholarships depend on fundraising, so some may not be offered every year):

The Bill Murfin Memorial Scholarship
Presented by Murfin Media
Award: $5,000.
Eligibility: Students must have a 3.0 GPA and at least three professional references.
This scholarship is presented by the family of the late William R. Murfin, a pioneering business leader in the oil and gas industry and entrepreneurial enterprises.

The Bill Roy Memorial Scholarship
Presented by the Wichita Business Journal and the Roy Family
Award: $2,000.
Eligibility: This is a scholarship for students who have demonstrated interest in business journalism.
Bill Roy was editor-in-chief at the Wichita Business Journal for 20 years, a role he continued to fulfill after being diagnosed with ALS in 2019. He was inducted into the Kansas Press Association Hall of Fame in 2022. In addition to his work at the Business Journal, he was an advocate for those battling the same illness by raising awareness and participating in research efforts. He died in 2023.

The Daniel McCoy Memorial Scholarship
Presented by the Wichita Business Journal and the McCoy Family
Award: $2,000.
Daniel spent more than a decade as an award-winning journalist covering manufacturing and aviation for the Wichita Business Journal. He was a longtime member of the SPJ Kansas Pro Chapter Scholarship Committee. Daniel died in 2023.

The Jerry Siebenmark News Scholarship
Presented by Aviation International News
Award: $1,500.
Jerry Siebenmark, a graduate of Wichita State, combined his love of journalism with his love for aviation. He began his journalism career at the Wichita Business Journal before moving to the Wichita Eagle. He then accepted a position as an aviation reporter and editor for Aviation International News. Siebenmark died in 2023 after a long battle with cancer.

The Randy Brown Memorial Scholarship
Award: At least $1,500.
Eligibility: Must be a student seriously considering a career in journalism.
This scholarship honors Randy Brown, a long-time Wichita journalist and advocate for transparency in government. He also taught at Wichita State University and led the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government. He died in 2014.

The Michael Bates Memorial Scholarship
Award: At least $1,000.
Eligibility: Must have 3.0 GPA or better. Must have demonstrated involvement in student and/or professional news media.
This scholarship honors the memory of former Associated Press journalist Mike Bates, who covered central and western Kansas and specialized in agricultural reporting. During his lengthy career, Bates covered the 1991 tornado that devastated Andover, the Karen Silkwood trial, and the six-week Wichita abortion protests in 1991. Bates was president of the Kansas Pro Chapter at the time of his death from lymphoma in 1996.

The Chris Shull Memorial Scholarship
Award: $1,000
Eligibility: Student should be pursuing a degree in journalism, have demonstrated an interest about the coverage of arts and music, have and maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester.
Chris Shull — or “Shull” as he was known by most — covered arts and music at the Wichita Eagle from 1998 to 2008. He had a huge personality with an encyclopedic knowledge of classical music, jazz, open wheel car racing, World War II and the Dallas Cowboys. He was as equally at ease navigating the pit lane of a car race as he was sipping wine while discussing the intricacies of Wagner. His enormous laugh and big voice in the Eagle newsroom was often a subject of conversation, but his unique coverage of the arts was unsurpassed. The Chris Shull Memorial Scholarship is to help support students who are passionate about the coverage of arts and music and are looking to find their own voice to do so. The arts are an important part of our society and need to have the right people to make sure that the world can easily be engaged and understand their relevance. Shull’s scholarship will be managed by the Kansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The Les Anderson Memorial Scholarship
Award: $1,000.
Eligibility: Must be a Wichita State student.
This scholarship honors the memory of Les Anderson, a Wichita State University journalism professor, newspaper publisher, journalist and longtime friend of Gridiron. Anderson and his wife, Nancy, founded the Ark Valley News in Valley Center in 1975. Anderson worked for five newspapers, including The Wichita Eagle and the Wichita Sun. He joined the WSU faculty in 1977 and was a longtime member of the SPJ Kansas board of directors and scholarship committee. He was a fierce advocate for his students and respected as a great journalist and a great man. Anderson died of a heart attack in November 2011 at age 62.

The Bud Norman Memorial Scholarship
Award: At least $1,000.
This scholarship honors Bud Norman, a reporter and columnist at The Wichita Eagle for 25 years. He was also an author and was part of the Gridiron show for 35 years, for which he wrote and performed his own skits that came full of political wit and commentary. Norman was a long-time Wichita resident, known beyond journalism for his convertible cars, Panama hats and socializing with fellow patrons at Kirby’s Beer Store and Harry’s. He died in 2020.

The SPJ Minority Student Scholarship
Award: $1,000.
Eligibility: Must be member of a racial or ethnic minority group.