The Reverend Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, has been named the 2005 Dick Enberg Award winner by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
The award will be presented Wednesday, July 6, at the conclusion of CoSIDA’s annual workshop. The awards program will include the presentation of the Enberg Award and the induction of five new members into the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame.
Father Hesburgh will not be able to attend the program but has taped his acceptance speech, according to CoSIDA President Rod Commons. Enberg will serve as master of ceremonies for the event.
Father Hesburgh served as co-chairman of the nationally influential Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. Nearly 90 percent of the commission’s reform agenda has been adopted by the NCAA. In 2004 he was the recipient of the NCAA’s Gerald Ford Award.
Father Hesburgh served as Notre Dame’s president from 1952-87, at the time the longest tenure among active presidents of American institutions of higher learning. Notre Dame’s annual operating budget grew from $9.7 million to $176.6 million and its endowment went from $9 million to $350 million during his tenure. Among his most noteworthy accomplishments were the transference of the University’s governance to a lay board of trustees in 1967 and the admission of women to the undergraduate program in 1972.
He has been a leader in higher education, the Church and national and international affairs, and has held 16 presidential appointments. He received the Medal of Freedom in 1964 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2000, and has been awarded 150 honorary degrees, more than any other person.
The Enberg winner has authored three books, including an autobiography, “God, Country, Notre Dame,” which became a national bestseller reaching No. 11 on the New York Times nonfiction list.
Established in 1997, the Dick Enberg Award is given annually to a person whose actions and commitment have furthered the meaning and reach of the Academic All-America® Teams Program and/or the student-athlete while promoting the values of education and academics. Notre Dame has 150 Academic All-America® recipients, ranking second among all schools.
The award was created in part to recognize Dick Enberg's passion and support of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® program for more than 20 years and more importantly, his dedication to education for more than four decades.
Previous winners include Dick Enberg in 1997, followed by John Humenik, Dean Smith, Bill Russell, Justice Alan Page, Donna Shalala and Ted Leland.