College Sports Information Directors of America

An astronaut, a physician, a former major league baseball player with three World Series rings, an Air Force major and a two-time Olympic Gold Medal-winner women's soccer player will be inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame during ceremonies in San Diego on Sunday, July 1.

The class of 2007 includes: 
- Julie Foudy (Stanford University, class of 1993), a former five-year captain of the U.S. women's national soccer team who will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame later this summer; 

- Joe Girardi (Northwestern University, class of 1986), a veteran of 15 years in the major leagues and the 2006 National League Manager of the Year; 

- Lance Pilch (U.S. Air Force Academy, class of 1993), a two-time Academic All-America baseball player at the Academy who is now a premier fighter jet pilot with more than 2,000 hours of flying time; 

- Dr. Amy (Sullivan) Nordmann (Washington University in St. Louis, class of 1994), a three-time Division III national champion in volleyball and now a radiologist specializing in Breast Imaging; 

- Steve Smith (Stanford University, class of 1980), an astronaut who is a veteran of four space flights and seven space walks.

The five inductees will join 93 previous inductees since the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame held its first induction in 1988.

CoSIDA established the Hall of Fame to honor former college student-athletes who have excelled in their professions and made substantial contributions to their communities. To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a candidate either had to be an Academic All-America team member who graduated at least 10 years ago, or fall into the honorary category, as was the case with Smith, a former All-America water polo player at Stanford.

Honorary inductees are eligible candidates who competed prior to the establishment of the Academic All-America program in their sport.

"The class of 2007 is the ultimate example of the types of individuals who exemplify everything positive about the Academic All-America program and the Hall of Fame. The members of CoSIDA are proud to play a part in this tremendous event," said Doug Dull of the University of Maryland, the 2006-07 CoSIDA president.

The Hall of Fame is an offshoot of CoSIDA's core Academic All-America program, which is sponsored by ESPN the Magazine. CoSIDA recognizes over 800 athletes annually as Academic All-Americas, and also selects in excess of 2,000 annually for Academic All-District honors.

This year's Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina as part of CoSIDA's annual workshop. Serving as the master of ceremonies will be ESPN analyst and former UCLA basketball coach Steve Lavin.

2007 ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE PROFILES

JULIE FOUDY
One of the finest women's soccer players in history, Julie Foudy is a two-time Olympic gold medal winner and a former five-year captain of the United States women's national soccer team who has also distinguished herself off the pitch. Later this summer, the native of Mission Viejo, Calif. will be enshrined in the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Foudy, a two-time high school All-America, made a mark for herself at Stanford University from 1989-92, earning All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America all four years. She was the 1991 Soccer America Player of the Year, was a two-time Hermann Trophy finalist, and was a member of the GTE Academic All-America soccer team as a senior.

After graduating with a degree in biology, Foudy was accepted into the Stanford Medical School, but elected to pursue a career as a professional athlete instead. She played a total of 17 years with the U.S. national team before retiring after the 2004 season, and her 271 lifetime caps ranks third in world soccer history.

Foudy's playing career was highlighted by Olympic gold in both 1996 and 2004, and helping the U.S. to Women's World Cup titles in both 1991 and 1999. In addition, she won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics, and was a founding member of the Women's United Soccer Association, playing three seasons with the San Diego Spirit.

Now a broadcaster for ESPN, Foudy has also been involved in a number of causes involving women's rights and fair labor. She has been President of the Women's Sports Foundation, has fought to stop changes to Title IX, and recently created the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy. That organization teaches students how to be a leader on the field and a leader in life.

JOE GIRARDI
The first former major league baseball player to be enshrined in the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame, Joe Girardi had a 15-year in the majors, playing with the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies and the New York Yankees before finishing his career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003.

His playing career, which included 1,277 regular season and 39 postseason games, featured three World Series championships while with the Yankees (1996, 1998, 1999) and an appearance in the 2000 All-Star Game. He was the catcher for David Cone's perfect game in 1999, and for a Dwight Gooden no-hitter.

Girardi, a native of Peoria, Ill., is a 1986 graduate of Northwestern University, where the industrial engineering major was a three-time Academic All-America (first team in 1984 and 1985, second team in 1986) and three-time All-Big Ten catcher.

Last year, in his first and only season at the helm of the Florida Marlins, Girardi was named the National League Manager of the Year after keeping the Marlins in the hunt for the wild card berth. Since leaving that position last October, Girardi's name has surfaced for numerous other managerial openings.

Girardi's post-playing career has also included serving as Joe Torre's bench coach with the Yankees in 2005, working with the YES network as an analyst on Yankee broadcasts, and serving as a analyst on Fox Sports' broadcasts of major league baseball.

Earlier this year, Girardi was the recipient of his alma mater's 2007 Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award.

AMY SULLIVAN NORDMANN
What an amazing volleyball career that Dr. Amy (Sullivan) Nordmann had during the early 90s at Washington University in St. Louis! Not only was she a two-time first-team Division III All-America, she was twice named the GTE Academic All-America of the Year (college division).

Even more impressive was the fact that during the three years that Nordmann starred for the Lady Bears, she never experienced a season that didn't end with Washington University winning the NCAA Division III national championship. The Washington U teams she played on won 126 of 132 matches, an incredible winning percentage of .955!

In addition to excelling in volleyball and in the classroom, Nordmann found plenty of time for community service activities during her college years. She helped operate the largest student-run charity carnival in the nation and volunteered at the St. Louis University hospital's emergency room, the Hope Center for Abused Children and a retirement center.

Nordmann, a St. Louis native who recently moved to Houston, received numerous accolades for her athletic and academic prowess, with the list including an NCAA Top Six award in 1993 and the State of Missouri's NCAA Woman of the Year award in 1994. She was also chosen as the Division III female recipient of the Woody Hayes National Scholar Athlete Award, given by the University Seratoma Club of Columbus, based on excellence in academics, athletics and community service.

Nordmann, who was a state finalist in the competition for a Rhodes scholarship, went on to attend the Washington University School of Medicine, graduating in 1999. Her professional career has included time as an instructor at WU's Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.

Currently, Nordmann is a radiologist specializing in Breast Imaging for Rose Imaging Specialists in Houston.

LANCE PILCH
The sixth graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy to be enshrined in the Academic All-America Hall of Fame, Major Lance Pilch shined in both the classroom and one the baseball diamond during his four years at the Academy.

Pilch was a two-time Academic All-America, earning selection in both 1992 and 1993, and as an electrical engineering major, graduated with a grade point average just a shade under 3.5. In his two years as a starting outfielder, he hit .361 and .315, and his 11 career triples rank in the top ten in Falcon history.

But Pilch's accomplishments during the 14 years since he left Colorado Springs have been even more impressive. He's been a fighter pilot in Iraq, has briefed the Air Force Chief of Staff on the F-22, was the number one graduate out of the Air Force Weapons School in 2001, and graduated from the top-ranked Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan with high academic distinction.

Pilch, who is now stationed at the Tyndall Air Force base in Florida, was one of only seven pilots in the world who was hand-selected to fly and teach in the F-22, and is one of only three pilots in the world qualified to fly the F-16, F-15 and the F-22. He has rewritten the entire course syllabi for the training course in the F/A-22, and was the number one ranked F-16 pilot in 2002.

Pilch, who led a joint fly-by at Super Bowl 39, has made numerous speeches at schools about being a pilot in the Air Force and the importance of education, and has also spoken to classes at the Academy.

The Air Force's other Hall of Fame members are Brock Strom, Rich Mayo, Michelle Johnson, Chris Howard and Chad Hennings.

STEVE SMITH
The honorary category allows CoSIDA to recognize outstanding student-athletes who didn't have the opportunity to earn Academic All-America honors because the program didn't exist in their sport at the time they were competing. Past honorary inductees have included Governor Raymond Shafer of Pennsylvania, Supreme Court Justice Byron White, Coach John Wooden and Rolf Benirschke.

Joining that illustrious group is 1981 Stanford University product Steve Smith, who becomes the first astronaut and first water polo player to be inducted.

Smith is a veteran of four space flights covering 16 million miles and seven space walks totaling 49 hours and 25 minutes, His spacewalk time places him in the top five on the all-time American and World spacewalk duration lists. Smith's first flight saw him serving as a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Endeavor in September 1994, a year after completing astronaut candidate training.

Smith performed three space walks as a member of the Discovery crew in 1997, helping to service the Hubble Space Telescope. He returned to the Hubble in 1999, and flew to the International Space Station aboard Atlantis in 2002.

During his four flights, Smith spent approximately 40 days in space and circled the earth 624 times.

Smith, who has three degrees from Stanford (BS in electrical engineering, MS in electrical engineering and an MBA), helped lead the Cardinal water polo team to two NCAA championships (1978, 1980). As a senior, he was the team captain and an All-America selection.

Smith, whose hometown is San Jose, Calif., is currently on a detached assignment serving as the NASA Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Launch Package Manager for the International Space Station Program. He is currently stationed in Paris.