Nominations can be made for a member of the Olympic or Paralympic Movement in the United States.

Their contributions could be made through management, organisation of sporting events or enhancing competitive opportunities.

The award was established in 1984 by the United States Olympic Endowment, a non profit agency set up to support Olympic sports.

It was named after Steinbrenner, considered one of the most influential leaders in the US Olympic Movement.

He served as USOC vice-president from 1989 to 1992, having previously chaired the Olympic Overview Commission which evaluated the effectiveness of the organisation.

Steinbrenner, who died in 2010, owned the New York Yankees baseball team for 37 years, with the club earning seven World Series titles during the period.

Among the previous recipients of the award at the women’s ice hockey team from the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics, who won the gold medal on its debut appearance at the Games.

The Barcelona 1992 Olympic men’s basketball team, nicknamed the "Dream Team", have also won the award.

Diving’s Tom Gompf, basketball’s George Killian, football’s Alan Rothenberg, swimming’s Carol Zaleski and Thomas Weisel, from cycling and skiing, are also previous winners.

The award is based on the qualities of leadership, ethical conduct and dedicated responsibility reflected in sustained contributions to sport.

Nominations must be made by the deadline on April 30.

The nomination forms can be downloaded here.