Two reporters for The Chronicle have received the Excellence in Sports Journalism Award, presented by Sport in Society and the Northeastern University School of Journalism, to “recognize and honor journalists that look at the connection between sport and the societal issues of the world beyond the court and the field.”

The reporters, Brad Wolverton and Paul Fain, are being honored for a six-article series, titled “Booster U.” and published in two issues last fall, that won in the print/online journalism category. The award for broadcast journalism went to HBO’s Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.

The Chronicle’s prize-winning articles were as follows: Growth in Sports Gifts May Mean Fewer Academic Donations Key Senator to Question Tax Treatment of Booster Clubs Oregon Debates Role of Big Sports Donors As Athletics Donations Go Up, Some Leaders Fret Over Booster Interference For Small Programs, Fund Raising Can Be a Ticket to the Big Time Advice From a Mega-Donor

This is the second time The Chronicle has won the award. That earlier award, in 1987, was presented to two Chronicle reporters, Charles Farrell and Peter Monaghan, and their editor, Jack Crowl, for the overall quality of their coverage.

Other past winners of the award include ESPN, ABC’s Nightline, Howard Cosell, Dick Schaap, Frank Deford and Gary Smith of Sports Illustrated, Robert Lipsyte of The New York Times, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Pete Thamel of The New York Times. This year’s winners will collect their awards at a dinner in Boston in January. —Andrew Mytelka