AUSTIN, Tex. -- United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, a basketball co-captain at Harvard University, joins former University of Oklahoma and fellow men’s basketball standout Alvan Adams along with University of Notre Dame women’s basketball star Ruth Riley, University of Southern California swimming great John Naber and Slippery Rock University soccer standout Dr. Todd Olsen as this year’s 2012 inductees into the Capital One Academic All-America® Hall of Fame, as selected by CoSIDA.
The five new inductees join 117 members of the Capital One Academic All-America® Hall of Fame, which was created in 1988. They will be inducted into the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame at CoSIDA’s annual convention in St. Louis, Mo. on Monday, June 25th at the organization’s Capital One Special Awards Gala.
This marks the second year that Capital One is the title sponsor of both the Academic All-America® program and the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame.
The biographical information on this year’s Academic All-America® Hall of Fame induction class is listed below:
ARNE DUNCAN – MEN’S BASKETBALL
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Commitment to education and furthering the ideals of service and leadership have always been staples of the Academic All-America® program, and there is no individual that embodies those qualities more than the United States Secretary of Education and Academic All-America® Hall of Famer Arne Duncan.
Whether it be on the floor of Harvard’s Lavietes Pavilion or in the halls of the White House, Secretary Duncan has been a leader whose vision has shaped the present and touched the future for countless of children across the country. He served as the Crimson’s co-captain on the hardwood during his senior campaign in 1986-87 while earning first-team GTE Academic All-America® accolades, and after graduating magna cum laude with a degree in sociology, Duncan continued his playing career in Australia with several teams, including the Melbourne Eastside Spectres.
In 1992, Duncan was appointed as director of the nonprofit Ariel Education Initiative in his native Chicago, and in 1999 he was appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Chicago Public Schools. Two years later, Duncan was named as the Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools by Mayor Richard M. Daley.
After eight years as one of the top education administrators in the nation, Duncan was appointed by fellow Chicagoan and Harvard alumnus, President Barack Obama, to serve as the ninth United States Secretary of Education.
Duncan’s tenure has been marked by a number of significant accomplishments on behalf of American students and teachers. He helped to secure congressional support for President Obama’s investments in education, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s $100 billion to fund 325,000 teaching jobs and the largest investment in federal student aid since the G.I. Bill. Additionally, under his leadership, the U.S. Department of Education has supported a national effort to unleash bold reforms and innovations through the Race to the Top and the Investing in Innovation programs and has made unprecedented commitments to turn around chronically underperforming schools.
ALVAN ADAMS – MEN’S BASKETBALL
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
A gifted player on the basketball court and a valuable member of the community, Alvan Adams has made a positive impact in whatever setting his career has t
aken him.
A two-time Academic All-America® honoree in both the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, Adams led the University of Oklahoma to national prominence as a three-time Big Eight Conference selection, earning league Player of the Year accolades after his junior campaign in 1975. Adams ranked as the Sooners’ all-time leading scorer (1,787 points) and rebounder (938) when he departed Norman for a standout career in the National Basketball Association, as he was chosen fourth overall in the 1975 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns and enjoyed a 13-year career in the desert.
The 1975-76 NBA Rookie of the Year, Adams led the Suns to a spot in a memorable 1976 NBA Finals series against the Boston Celtics and went on to become the franchise leader in scoring (13, 910 points), games played (988), rebounds (6,937) and steals (1,289). Alvan’s jersey was retired following the completion of his career in 1988, the third such honor in team history and one of only 11 Phoenix players to earn that accolade.
Adams returned to Oklahoma following his playing career and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1998. He is only the second Sooner in any sport to have his jersey retired, and he still ranks 14th in career rebounding in the history of the Big Eight/Big 12 Conference. As a freshman at OU, Adams played on the 1973 World University Games squad that captured the title with a perfect 9-0 mark.
As the Vice President for Facility Management for the Phoenix Arena Sports Corporation, Adams has been an active member of the Phoenix community. He serves on the Phoenix Pride Commission and was appointed by the city’s major to the Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission. A member of the Board of Trustees of the Phoenix Museum of History, Alvan has also volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America and started the first NBA 65 Roses Club benefitting Cystic Fibrosis.
RUTH RILEY – WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
One of the most decorated individuals in the history of women’s basketball, Ruth Riley’s career has embodied great success on the court and high a
chievement off it.
Riley brought Notre Dame to unseen heights during her tenure in South Bend, as the two-time First Team All-America center capped her storybook senior season by leading the Fighting Irish to an improbable 68-66 victory over in-state rival Purdue in the 2001 NCAA national championship game, scoring the final four points after her team trailed in the closing minute of the contest. Riley closed out her career with 2,072 points and a school record 1,007 rebounds, 370 blocked shots and a .632 field goal percentage, marks that still stand over a decade later.
With those accomplishments came accolades for Riley, as the Big East Conference Player of the Year added a pair of prestigious honors to her resume in 2001: the Naismith Award as the nation’s top player on the court and the Verizon University Division Academic All-America® of the Year in the classroom.
After earning her degree in psychology from Notre Dame, Riley took her talents to South Beach as the fifth overall pick in the WNBA Draft by the Miami Sol. After two seasons in Miami, Riley returned to the Midwest as a member of the Detroit Shock, and just two years after leading Notre Dame to a title, she created the same magic in the Motor City, leading the Shock to the WNBA championship and earning MVP honors of the league finals. During her four seasons in Detroit, Riley led the Shock to a pair of WNBA titles and a spot in the league’s All-Star Game. From Detroit, Riley spent the last five seasons as a member of the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars, and this summer she will play in the Windy City for the Chicago Sky as part of her 12th campaign in the league.
Riley’s achievements are not limited to the professional basketball ranks. While at Notre Dame, she was a member of the United States squad that won a silver medal at the 1999 World University Games, and in 2004 she helped her country captured gold with an undefeated run at the 2004 Olympic Games. Riley has also played internationally in the Spanish League, the Polish League and the Greek League, helping Athinaikos in the latter association capture its first EuroCup Women’s Basketball title.
A two-time Verizon Academic All-America® honoree, Riley was appointed by President George W. Bush to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 2009. She is the author of a children’s book, The Spirit of Basketball, which was published in 2005.
JOHN NABER – MEN’S SWIMMING
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
There aren’t many titles that John Naber hasn’t held during an illustrious career as one of the top swimmers in the world, but this summer he will add the honor of Academic All-America® Hall of Famer to an already impressive resume.
Naber is this year’s honorary inductee and joins a group that includes fellow swimming greats Nancy Hogshead-Makar and Gary Hall Sr. in that category. A 1977 graduate of the University of Southern California, Naber captured 10 NCAA individual titles and five more relay crowns during his storied career with the Trojans while leading USC to four consecutive national swim titles, capping his stellar collegiate career by earning the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete in 1977 after being named as Swimming World Magazine’s Male Swimmer of the Year in 1976.
As he captured glory in the pool in Los Angeles, Naber’s star shined bright on the international stage during the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, where he won four gold medals and one silver medal while breaking six world records, two of which lasted from 1976 through 1983. In 1984, he was inducted into the United States Olympic Committee Hall of Fame, just one week prior to the Games in Los Angeles. A four-time Olympic torchbearer, John also served as a television and radio commentator for nine Olympiads following his formal retirement from the sport.
Naber earned his degree in psychology from Southern California, and today he operates Naber and Associates, a company that provides motivational speaking, appearances, sports-related marketing and consultations for corporations interested in benefitting from Naber’s Olympic experiences. He was twice elected as the President of the US Olympians (America’s Olympic Alumni Association).
Naber is an active member of the Southern California and Greater Los Angeles community. He has served as an honorary swim coach for the International Special Olympics and is on the Board of “Swim With Mike” (disabled student-athlete scholarship fund). An active fundraiser for both the United States Olympic Committee and the University of Southern California, John is the chair of the “Character Counts Sports Advisory Board” and helped raise funds for the construction of the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena. He also serves on the Board of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games.
DR. TODD OLSEN – MEN’S SOCCER
SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY
Success on the soccer pitch is something that Dr. Todd Olsen achieved as both a player and a coach, but his biggest victory has come in helping others around the world.
Olsen was a four-year letter-winner and team captain at Slippery Rock, where he graduated magna cum laude with a perfect 4.00 GPA in health & physical education. A GTE Academic All-America® during his junior and senior campaigns in 1984 and 1985, Olsen earned his doctorate in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1992, and for the past 18 seasons he has served as head women’s soccer coach at Lynchburg College, guiding the Hornets to a 294-79-36 mark along the way.
Olsen’s Hornets earned a trip to the NCAA Division III national semi-finals in 2009 after advancing to the quarterfinals on three occasions and the Sweet 16 four times. Like their leader, Olsen’s squads have earned distinction for their performance both on and off the field, as Lynchburg boasts 10 All-America and three Academic All-America honorees during his tenure.
But the teaching and coaching that Dr. Olsen has done on the soccer field pales in comparison to the lessons and goodwill he has brought to so many different parts of the world. He is actively involved with service and study abroad projects at the local and global levels, and he has taken his Lynchburg team on soccer/service trips to Argentina and Costa Rica. In addition, Olsen has partnered with the Sports Outreach Institute and serves in a volunteer role as the Community Public Health Epidemiologist, traveling on several occasions to Africa where he has developed and implemented community health workshops and programs on community public health issues in Kenya and Uganda, and his work has helped serve some of the world’s poorest people with these training sessions.
Dr. Olsen’s community service has received national and international recognition, as he has been the subject of several news features. In addition to his coaching duties at Lynchburg, Olsen holds the title of Associate Professor of Health and Human Performance at the College.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., and ING Bank, fsb, had $216.5 billion in deposits and $294.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of March 31, 2012. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One and ING Direct offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN’s Capital One Bowl Week. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot team, Capital One Academic All-America Program, and supports all 89 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.
For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.
ABOUT CoSIDA
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA, www.cosida.com), now in its 56th year, was founded in 1957-making it the second oldest management association in intercollegiate athletics. Today, it is a vibrant 2,800-plus member national association comprised of the sports public relations, communications and information professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the United States and Canada.
CoSIDA has two primary missions: 1) Help the communications and media relations professionals at all collegiate levels with professional development and continuing education as it relates to strategically dealing in an effective manner with the various issues, challenges and opportunities that now exist within the fast-paced and ever-changing communications environment. 2) Play a significant leadership and resource role (i.e. "Strategic Communicators for College Athletics") within the overall enterprise of collegiate athletics.
CoSIDA founded in the mid 1950's the highly regarded "Academic All-America®" program, unquestionably viewed as the premier awards program in intercollegiate athletics for honoring combined academic and athletic excellence. CoSIDA, which became an affiliated partner with NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics) in December of 2008, continues to fully manage and administer that program today.