Des Moines Register columnist Randy Peterson honored by Football Writers Association

Des Moines Register sports columnist Randy Peterson has received a prestigious national honor from the Football Writers Association of America.

Peterson, who covers Iowa State University athletics for the Register, is the FWAA's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for the 2023 season, the organization announced Wednesday. Peterson has been a member of the Register sports department for more than 50 years.

According to the FWAA website, the Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an individual who has been an FWAA member or someone close to the organization who has contributed greatly to either college football, the writing profession or the FWAA itself during his or her career.

"Randy truly has been an institution in Iowa where he has covered the Big Eight, Big Ten, Missouri Valley and Big 12 at different times over the last 50 years," Steve Richardson, FWAA executive director, said in a news release. "There are probably some other conferences I have forgotten about that he has covered − all at the same paper. If anybody in the state of Iowa involved in sports doesn't know Randy, then I really question whether they live in Iowa. He has been on the front page of the Des Moines Register sports section longer than many Iowans have been alive."

Peterson graduated from Des Moines East High School and Drake University before joining the Register in 1972.

More: Sportswriter Randy Peterson has worked at the Des Moines Register for 50 years ... and he's still going

Past recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include: Art Spander, San Francisco Examiner (2013); Bill Little, University of Texas (2014); Irv Moss, Denver Post (2015); Buddy Davis, Ruston Daily Leader (2016); Mike Finn, ACC (2017); Dave Plati, University of Colorado (2018); Paul Hoolahan, Sugar Bowl, and Wright Waters, Football Bowl Association (2019); Sid Hartman, Minneapolis Star-Tribune (2020); Shelly Poe, Auburn University, (2021) and Donald Hunt, Philadelphia Tribune (2022).

"You cannot imagine how surprised and honored I was when I was told I was joining this list," Peterson said in the FWAA news release. "I grew up reading and then working alongside Des Moines Register legends Maury White and Buck Turnbull … both former long-time FWAA members. I saw the way they interacted with other writers while covering games throughout the country, all of whom were FWAA members. I couldn't wait to become a full-time college writer − to join this group and to share that camaraderie. As I near the end of this journey, I will always remember the FWAA."

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Football Writers Association honors Des Moines Register's Randy Peterson