Sarah Spain emphasized the “thrilling” rise in attention on women’s sports as she accepted the 2025 Social Impact Award at the HeartPodcast Awards on Monday evening (March 10). The annual show returned to SXSW in Austin, Texas.

Spain, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist, earned laughs from the audience as she accepted her award from actor and comedian Ed Helms, and said “I was expecting this,” as opposed to other award winners who expressed surprise. Spain, however, said she expected the honor “not only because there are no other nominees, but they did tell me in advance.” She said in her speech:

“An Icon Award usually goes to someone that’s kind of old, but I won’t take offense to that. I have been at the women’s sports game for quite some time. And while it took a couple extra years — a couple extra decades, actually — than most of us were hoping for, it’s still really thrilling to see the interest in women’s sports explode, and I’m so glad that iHeart trusted my veteran voice in this space to host the first and only daily women’s sports podcast on any major platform. And I want to thank iHeart for diving into the women’s sports space with more than just my show, Good Game with Sarah Spain, but also with an entire iHeart Women’s Sports audio network, and by putting my thrice daily women’s sports updates on every single one of their 500 radio stations nationwide because ‘sports, weather and traffic’ means women’s sports, too, right? And also a big shoutout to my producers, Misha, Alex and Emily for helping me make the show what it is. Good Game is more than just a show, it’s a community. And I promise, once you dive in, and you learn the stars, states, stats and stories of women’s sports just like we know them in men’s sports, you are going to be hooked. So, we will not shame you for not getting on the bandwagon when we told you the first time, or the second or the third. We will not be mad at you for being late. We will just tell you to hop on the bandwagon now, and become an orange slice — which is part of our community — and join us. Because even though we’ve been here for a long time, I’m pretty sure we’re still just getting started.”

Spain won the 2025 Social Impact Award “for her pivotal role in championing equity in sports coverage, equal pay for female athletes and better investment in women’s sports infrastructure.” iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-07-17-iheartmedia-debuts-good-game-with-sarah-spain-podcast/ as part of the iHeart Women's Sports Network. Its description reads:

“Good Game is your one-stop shop for the biggest stories in women’s sports. Every day, host Sarah Spain gives you the stories, stakes, stars and stats to keep up with your favorite women’s teams, leagues and athletes. Through thoughtful insight, witty banter, and an all around good time, Sarah and friends break down the latest news, talk about the games you can’t miss, and debate the issues of the day. Don’t miss interviews with the people of the moment, whether they be athletes, coaches, reporters, or celebrity fans.”

Other iHeartPodcast Award honorees throughout the evening include Dan Taberski (2025 Audible Audio Pioneer Award), Daniel Alarcón (2025 Innovator Award) and more. See the complete list of winners here (including the coveted Podcast of the Year honor), and find Good Game with Sarah Spain here.

Jeff Haber