A national sports presenter and former NCTJ graduate will host the organisation’s 2014 Awards for Excellence.

BBC Football Focus anchor Dan Walker, who completed an MA in journalism at the University of Sheffield in 1999, will announce the winners at a ceremony next month.

This year’s awards have attracted the highest number of entries since they were launched in 2008, with industry judges deliberating over more than 200 awards entries to decide on the full shortlist.

Dan was part of the BBC Sport team which covered the 2014 football World Cup and 2012 Olympics, and presents a daily show on Radio Five Live.

Said Dan: “I still look back on my time spent studying in Sheffield with great fondness and I am really looking forward to hosting the awards night.

“It’s also great to front an event about five minutes from my house which means I can be home before bedtime.”

He will be joined on stage by David Tossell, director of public affairs in Europe for NFL UK, the event’s sponsor, who will present the awards.

The full list of nominees is as follows: