Prominent journalist John Feinstein passed away Thursday at 69. That led to a lot of tributes to Feinstein, known for four-plus decades of work at The Washington Post plus 44 books and several prominent radio jobs, across sports. But a notable one came from the ACC Friday:
Wonderful gesture from the ACC here, honoring the late John Feinstein, who passed away yesterday. pic.twitter.com/81aA9kxlsA
— Rob Dauster (@RobDauster) March 14, 2025
It’s fitting for the conference to salute Feinstein, as while he was famed for his work across sports, college basketball was one of the areas where he was most well-known. (Indeed, his final Post column, on Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, ran on the day he died.) And a significant part of that came on his coverage of the ACC. On that front, legendary past Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski paid homage to Feinstein Friday as “one of the best writers for sports of all time.”
Feinstein’s absence will certainly be felt throughout the college basketball world this month and next. The Atlantic 10, where he was a regular figure, also left a seat open for him at their Washington, D.C. conference tournament this weekend. And there have been many further tributes to him, including a salute from Michael Wilbon on Pardon The Interruption. But it’s notable to see a conference of the ACC’s scale join in there.
Update: This post initially had Feinstein as 68 rather than 69 due to an error in the Post’s obituary for him. It’s been updated. We regret the error.
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.