Between 2001 and 2004, the award voting panel comprised variously fans; sportswriters and broadcasters, sports executives, and retired sportspersons, termed collectively experts; and ESPN personalities, but balloting thereafter has been exclusively by fans over the Internet from amongst choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee.
From 2001 to 2004, a voting panel comprising various stakeholders, including enthusiasts, journalists, executives, and former athletes, made up the award selection process. However, since then, fan-voted balloting has been conducted online through a list of nominees chosen by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee.