Photo @Mykal McEldowney
Dana Hunsinger Benbow is a sportswriter for the Indianapolis Star and USA Today and the author of "Jeanette Lee: The Black Widow, A Memoir." She grew up in Greenfield, Indiana, playing volleyball and tennis, loving the Boston Celtics and New York Yankees almost as much as she loved crafting stories. She is married with three sons, Davis, Eli and Nolan, loves playing beach volleyball with her husband Mark, and has four stepchildren. Benbow’s main focus in sports is to tell the stories of athletes, coaches, trends and finances -- the stuff that happens off the field or court.
What has your career journey looked like so far?
I graduated from Ball State University in 1997 with a degree in journalism and began my career at the Noblesville Daily Ledger covering government. In 1999, I was hired at IndyStar as a business writer and spent a decade covering commercial real estate development and retail. Later, I went on to become the newspaper’s fitness writer and, 11 years ago, I joined the sports desk. Add more details about sporst desk and IU health mention??
What awards have you won throughout your career?
Actually, in third grade, I won an award for a story I wrote about a jellybean sitting on President Ronald Reagan’s desk. But seriously, I won an APSE national sports award in 2021 for my converage of the Indy 500. My story on Colts center Ryan Kelly, his wife Emma and the loss of their daughter Mary Kate won an APSE national sports award in 2022. In 2023, I was named Indiana Journalist of The Year by the Society of Professional Journalists.
What are some of your most memorable stories?
I was in New England for the AFC championship, the infamous Deflategate game. I did a three-part series on the rise and fall of Steve Alford, after he was fired from UCLA. I traveled to Minnesota for a story inside Ben Utecht’s home as he battles CTE and memory loss. In 2020, I began covering two elite athletes Chase (a swimmer) and Sadie (a diver) after Chase was diagnosed with terminal cancer and married Sadie while still in high school. I followed them until Chase's death a year later.