TOWSON, Md. - For the first time, highlights of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame® induction ceremony, which took place on June 30 in Tampa, Fla., will be televised on ESPNU next week. The induction show will make its debut on Friday, November 14 at 9:30 a.m. (EST). It also will be shown on Tuesday, November 18 at 5:00 a.m. (EST) and Friday, November 21 at 3:00 a.m. (EST).
Hosted by
Holly Rowe of ESPN, the Academic All-America Hall of Fame® induction ceremony show will feature the inductions of the five newest members of the Academic All-America Hall of Fame®.
In June, the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame inducted another prestigious class of which included
Dr. Kenny Caldwell (The Citadel, Class of 1979),
Nancy Hogshead-Makar (Duke, Class of 1986),
Karen Jennings (Nebraska, Class of 1993),
Rebecca Lobo (Connecticut, Class of 1995) and
Amy Privette Perko (Wake Forest, Class of 1987).
Highlights from their acceptance speeches will be featured on the show.
In addition, the winner of the 2008
Dick Enberg Award,
Charles R. (Chuck) Lee, retired chairman and co-CEO of Verizon Communications, will be featured on the program.
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. The award was created in part to recognize Enberg's passion and support of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® program for more than 20 years, as well as his dedication to education for more than four decades.
In his role as the chairman and co-CEO of Verizon, Lee was highly instrumental in the development and promotion of the Academic All-America® program and its Hall of Fame. He retired in 2003 after 20 years with Verizon and GTE.
A decorated military veteran who served in the United States Army Reserve for eight years, Dr. Caldwell is a general and orthopedic surgeon. A three-time selection as a first team Academic All-America® football player, he graduated from The Citadel with a degree in Chemistry in 1979. A Major in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps, he was an orthopedic surgeon at the 312nd Evac Hospital in Saudi Arabia during a seven-month stint of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at The Citadel in 1986, he has been the team physician at his alma mater for the last 18 years. He also served a nine-year stint on the South Carolina State Board of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
One of the greatest swimmers in Olympic history, Hogshead-Makar has enjoyed great success in both the athletic and academic communities. Although she spent just one season on the Duke swimming team, she won four individual Atlantic Coast Conference championships, earned two All-American honors and broke nine school records. A 1986 graduate of Duke who earned her degree in Political Science, she was one of the standouts at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. At the Olympics, she won gold medals in the 100-freestyle, the 400-free relay and the 400-medley relay.
One of the country’s foremost experts as an attorney for gender equity within athletics, Hogshead-Makar currently serves as a Professor of Law at the Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Fla. After earning her law degree from Georgetown University in 1997, she spent four years with the firm of Holland & Knight. The president of the Women’s Sports Foundation from 1992 to 1994, she served as an advisor to President Clinton on the National Service Act.
The all-time leading scorer in the history of Nebraska women’s basketball, Jennings was the 1993 Wade Trophy recipient as the National Player of the Year. A three-time selection as a first team Academic All-America®, she graduated from Nebraska with a degree in Education in 1993. She also earned her Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from Nebraska in 1998. Honored as the Academic All-America® of the Year for women’s basketball in 1992 and 1993, she finished her career with 2,405 points and was a first team Kodak All-American. She also earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
A member of the United States Junior National Team, she played professionally in France. An active member of the Omaha community where she resides, Jennings has served as a motivational speaker for girls groups and has done volunteer work with the Corporate Cup for Arthritis Foundation as well as the Race For A Cure.
A two-time All-American and former WNBA all-star, Lobo was the 1995 Academic All-America® of the Year for women’s basketball and the co-winner of the Academic All-America® of the Year award for all sports in the University Division. A Rhodes Scholar candidate, she led the Huskies to a perfect 35-0 record and a national championship as a senior when she was the winner of the NCAA Woman of the Year award. A two-time winner of the Big East Conference’s Scholar-Athlete award for women’s basketball, she earned her degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences from UConn.
After a successful seven-year WNBA career, Lobo is currently an analyst for ESPN. She has been involved in her community, founding “The RuthAnn and Rebecca Lobo Scholarship in Allied Health at UConn” while serving as a spokesperson for breast cancer research fund-raising campaigns, among many charitable ventures.
A two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection in women’s basketball, Privette Perko has been the Executive Director of the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics since 2005. The second-leading scorer in Wake Forest history with 1,722 points, Privette Perko was a three-time selection on the Academic All-America® team. A 1987 graduate of Wake Forest with a degree in History, she had a 3.85 grade point average. She was inducted into Wake Forest’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.
A member of the NCAA staff for six years, she was named as Associate Athletic Director and Senior Women’s Administrator at the University of Kansas in 1996. She joined the Knight Foundation in 2003 and served as Associate Director for two years before assuming the role of Executive Director three years ago.
With the induction of Caldwell, Hogshead-Makar, Jennings, Lobo and Privette Perko, the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame now has 103 members.
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 Hogshead-Makar. Honorary inductees are eligible candidates who competed prior to the establishment of the Academic All-America® program in their sport.
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-Americans, and also selects in excess of 2,000 annually for Academic All-District honors.
CONTACT: Dan O’Connell, Towson University
Vice-Chair (Publicity/Communications), Academic All-America® Committee
(410) 704-3102
doconnell@towson.edu