Students working for The Daily Universe compete against students nationwide in a number of contests each year. BYU students won the General Excellence award and Best Newspaper Website award in the 2017 College Division of the National Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest.
BYU won first place in four categories, took home a second and third place finish in two categories, and received honorable mentions in four other categories.
First Place:
- Video Journalism
- Best Newspaper Web Site
- Best Environmental Story/Series: Theresa Davis, Bears Ears National Monument
- Best Obituary Tribute: Nate Cunningham, LaVell Edwards dies at 86
Second Place:
- Best Breaking News: Universe staff, Campus sexual assault protest
Third Place:
- Best Local News Coverage: based on two full editions of the Universe
Honorable Mention:
- Best Use of Photos
- Best Feature Photo
- Best Sports Section
- Best Feature Series
In addition, The Daily Universe claimed awards from the College Media Association and Associated Collegiate Press. Reporting team — and now husband and wife — Ryan Turner and Kjersten Johnson took a Best Multimedia Breaking News Story first place College Media Association Pinnacle Award and a 2017 Multimedia Story of the Year third place Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award for their reporting of the Standing Rock protests.
Zoe Wolff McGinn claimed a third place Associated Collegiate Press Best Podcast award, Sarah Averett Harris took a third place Associated Collegiate Press Multimedia Feature Award and Haley Hilton claimed an Associated Collegiate Press Multimedia Sports Story of the Year fourth place award.
