USA TODAY Sports has launched its inaugural Readers' Choice Awards, allowing fans to vote in categories such as best sports bars, best college baseball stadium, and best NFL city. The nominees were chosen by a panel of journalists and editors, and fans can now decide the winners.
The best NFL cities? The best college baseball stadiums? The go-to local hangout on gameday?
USA TODAY Sports is putting those questions and many more to a vote with the 2026 Readers' Choice Awards, which will help crown champions in some of the great debates in football, baseball, hockey, and beyond.
The inaugural launch kicks off with four categories for fans to vote on, including the best sports barsāboth local and national hangoutsāalongside nominees for the best college baseball stadium and best NFL city.
Following the framework of USA TODAY 10Best, the USA TODAY Sports Readers' Choice nominees were selected by a panel of journalists and editors from across the Network, bringing expertise and sports-savvy experience to each category.
Now, it's up to the fans to decide the best of the best. To help select the fan favorites that will earn the distinction of being a first-ever USA TODAY Sports Readers' Choice Award winner.
After the nominees in an award category are announced, USA TODAY Sports encourages the fans to vote for their favorites.
The public can vote for one nominee per category, per calendar day, based on Eastern Time.
Each category will have an open voting period of four weeks.
This first round of USA TODAY Sports Readers' Choice Awards opens on Monday, April 13, 2026, at noon ET. Voting ends on Monday, May 11, 2026, at noon ET.
USA TODAY Sports Readersā Choice Awards winners are typically revealed on Wednesdays the week after voting ends.
The first round of USA TODAY Sports Readers' Choice Award winners will be announced on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
Twenty nominees enter, 10 leave as a USA TODAY Sports Readersā Choice Awards winner!
USA TODAY Sports Readers' Choice Awards
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: 'Best NFL city?' headlines USA TODAY Sports Readers' Choice Awards
The awards feature categories like best sports bars, best college baseball stadium, and best NFL city.
Nominees were selected by a panel of journalists and editors from the USA TODAY Network.
Fans can vote for their favorites in each category through the USA TODAY Sports Readers' Choice Awards website.
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