See the full NCAA release, including a video from the six awardees
The NCAA has named six former student-athletes as recipients of its Silver Anniversary Award that annually recognizes distinguished individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their college athletics careers. Winners will accept their awards at the 2011 NCAA Convention.
Of the six, two are CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Famers:
Joe Girardi, current New York Yankees manager who was an Northwestern University Academic All-America baseball standout who graduate in 1986 as an industrial engineering major; and
Tim Green, a 1986 Syracuse graduate and All-America and Academic All-America football standout and English major who currently is an author, lawyer and coach.
Green was inducted into the elite CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2007, while Girardi's induction followed a year later (2008).
The other four 2011 Silver Anniversary recipients are
Lisa Caputo, Teresa Edwards, Vincent (Bo) Jackson and Scott Verplank.
Caputo, a 1986 Brown University graduate with a double major in political science and French, starred in field hockey and lacrosse. She currently serves as executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Citi and formerly served as deputy assistant to the President of the United States, press secretary to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and chief spokesperson for the First Family.
Edwards, a TV personality and basketball analyst, graduated from Georgia in 1989 as an education recreation and leisure studies major while starring as an All-America basketball player. She is the only American basketball player to play in five Olympics and the only female athlete to earn medals in five consecutive games (gold in 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000; bronze in 1992).
Jackson, a successful businessman, was a standout Heisman Trophy running back for Auburn University, from which he graduated in 1995 as a family and childhood development major. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1998. Jackson was a two-sport professional athlete, playing Major League Baseball for eight seasons and professional football from 1987 to 1990.
Verplank, a highly successful 23-year veteran of the PGA Tour, currently has five victories, 91 top-10 finishes and has made the cut in 397 of 576 events, is a 1986 graduate of Oklahoma State. He was a three-time first-team All-American and the 1986 NCAA while majoring in organizational administration.
CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Famers earning 2011 NCAA Silver Anniversary Awards
Joe Girardi
School: Northwestern
Graduation year: 1986
Major: Industrial Engineering
Sport: Baseball
Career highlights: Girardi led the 2009 New York Yankees to a World Series victory and has been manager of the club since 2008. He played 15 years in Major League Baseball, earning three World Series rings as a player. He was named an All-Star in 2000 while playing for the Chicago Cubs and was crowned the 2006 National League Manager of the Year while with the Florida Marlins. He was a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and holds a number of baseball records at Northwestern.
Tim Green
School: Syracuse
Graduation year: 1986
Major: English
Sport: Football
Career highlights: Green is currently an author, lawyer and coach, specializing in energy and utilities law. He played eight seasons in the National Football League with the Atlanta Falcons and has served as an NFL analyst for Fox Sports and a commentator for National Public Radio and Good Morning America. A New York Times best-selling author, Green has written 22 books. He coaches football at Skaneateles High School. While at Syracuse, he was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship and was a two-time All-American and National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete award winner.