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Academic All-America Hall of Fame® Induction Ceremony
Hosted by ESPN's Rece Davis, with special guest Dick Enberg
Sunday, June 11 6:30 - 8PM Orlando World Center Marriott, Sago Ballroom
Ceremony open to all CoSIDA and NACDA convention attendees, free of charge.
Academic All-America Hall of Fame® Class of 2017 Announced
by Barb Kowal, CoSIDA Director of Professional Development and External Affairs
Four distinguished professionals, all standout collegiate scholar-athletes, have been announced as the newest members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame®.
Created in 1988, the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame recognizes former Academic All-Americas who received a college degree at least 10 years ago, have achieved lifetime success in their professional careers, and are committed to philanthropic causes.
This year's 2017 inductees into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame are:
• Dr. Stacey Johnson, a two-time national champion and four-time All-America fencer at San Jose State University and a 1980 U.S. Olympian;
• Heather O'Reilly, University of North Carolina women's soccer standout who helped UNC earn two NCAA titles and went on to international success with the U.S. National Team, winning three Olympic gold medals and a FIFA world championship;
• Rachel Price Bell, PhD, an All-America volleyball standout at the University of North Alabama who was twice selected as the top female student-athlete in the Gulf South Conference;
•
Stephanie White, Purdue University women's basketball standout and the 1999 national Player of the Year when she led the Boilermakers to the 1999 NCAA championship who went on to star in the WNBA before turning to coaching professionally and at the collegiate level.
The four new inductees will join the prestigious 142-members Academic All-America Hall of Fame this June. They will be inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame at CoSIDA's annual convention in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, June 11th during the organization's annual Hall of Fame Ceremony at the World Center Marriott. The CoSIDA convention is held in conjunction with the annual National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Affiliates Convention for a fifth straight year.
"In our 2017 Academic All-America Hall of Fame class, we recognize four women who made major contributions to their respective collegiate sports and who continue to make significant impact in their professional careers," said Andy Seeley, UCF Assistant Athletic Director for Communications and current CoSIDA president. "As undergraduates, they excelled at the highest levels to their respective sports while also being committed to obtaining extraordinary academic success."
The June 11th Hall of Fame induction ceremony will feature ESPN's Rece Davis as emcee and legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg, the ambassador of the Academic All-America program, as special guest and presenter. At that time, the
2017 Dick Enberg Award recipient, former Ole Miss chancellor Dr. Robert Khayat, also will be recognized.
The AAA Hall of Fame event, which will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. on June 11, is free and open to all attendees of the CoSIDA and NACDA convention.
"We are so pleased to announce this year's Academic All-America Hall of Fame class. For so many of us involved with CoSIDA, this annual induction celebration has truly become a special evening honoring amazing individuals with wonderful and heartfelt stories of great accomplishment as both students, athletes and citizens within their communities," noted Bernie Cafarelli, American Athletic Conference Associate Commissioner for Communications/External Affairs and chair of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame committee.
"Their stories have a lasting impact on those who attend the event each year. On behalf of the Academic All-America committee, we are proud to welcome another distinguished group into 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.
Dr. Stacey Johnson - San Jose State University '80, Fencing
Johnson is the Class of 2017's Honorary inductee. The honorary designation is awarded to a former distinguished scholar-athlete whose collegiate career pre-dated the Academic All-America program in his/her particular sport.
She has served as President of Valencia College's East and Winter Park campuses (Orlando, Florida) since the summer of 2012.
One of the most decorated fencers in United States collegiate and national history, Johnson competed for San Jose State from 1976 to 1979. Named an All-American every season, she also was a two-time National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association champion and led the Spartans to two team national championships.
As part of the United States national fencing program, Johnson was a three-time United States national team champion, competed in the 1977 and 1979 World University Games and was a 1980 U.S. Olympian.
She continued her service to the Olympics by serving on the U.S. Olympic Committee's Board of Directors from 1996 to 2004, and was elected to the USOC Executive Committee for 2003-2004.
In addition, Johnson served as president of the U.S. Fencing Association from 2000 to 2004, and was the first woman in the organization's 125-year history to serve four terms as president.
A standout academically at San Jose State, she earned her bachelor's degree in public relations in 1980. Johnson went on to receive a masters of arts in communications from Incarnate Word University (San Antonio, Texas) before earning her doctorate in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin where she studied in the university's Community College Leadership Program.
Prior to her position at Valencia, Johnson was vice president of academic affairs at Palo Alto College (San Antonio, Texas) from 2007-12. While in San Antonio, Johnson also founded the "Dreams for Youth" San Antonio Sports Foundation, which received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Olympic Committee for its work in serving 100,000 children.
Dr. Rachel Price Bell, PhD. - University of North Alabama '00, Volleyball
A four-year starter on University of North Alabama volleyball teams from 1996-99, Price Bell helped put UNA volleyball on the national map. She helped lead the Lions to a 156-22 record and four consecutive Gulf South Conference championships and four straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances which included two NCAA regional championships.
Price Bell was a second-team AVCA All-American selection during her junior and senior seasons in 1998 and 1999. She played in a school-record 593 games and 178 matches and finished with 1,539 kills.
The scholar-athlete also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 1998 (third-team) and 1999 (first-team). She and her twin sister Ronda, also a UNA volleyball star, are two of only eight UNA student-athletes all-time to have earned both All-American and Academic All-America honors.
Price Bell was also an Academic All-GSC honoree in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and received the Gulf South Conference Commissioner's Trophy as the premier female student-athlete in the league in 1999 and 2000. As a senior, Price Bell was also named NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner's Association National Female Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2000.
Among her numerous post-college honors, Price Bell was inducted into the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011 in her first year of eligibility. In 2013 she and her twin sister Ronda were named as the Gulf South Conference's top female student-athletes for the 40th Anniversary of the NCAA Division II and were honored at the NCAA Convention in San Diego.
Price also was inducted into the Gulf South Conference Hall of Fame in 2015.
Following her graduation from UNA , Price earned a PhD. in biomedical engineering from Purdue University. The clinical scientist is currently employed as a clinical project manager in West Lafayette, Ind., coordinating studies for new medical devices.
Heather O'Reilly - University of North Carolina, '07, Soccer
A 2015 World Cup champion as a midfielder for the U.S. National Women's Soccer Team. Three-time USA Olympic gold medalist (2004, 2008, 20012). Three-time World Cup medalist. Two-time NCAA national champion while starring for the University of North Carolina soccer program.
That is the illustrious resume of O'Reilly, who began her international soccer career at the early age of 17 in 2002. That year, Heather earned her first cap with the United States Women's National Team (WSWNT). In 2004, during her sophomore year at North Carolina, her soccer dreams became a reality when she was named the youngest member of the 2004 Olympic Team.
O'Reilly was an education major at UNC, where she played forward for the Tar Heels from 2003 through 2006. She appeared in 97 matches, scoring 59 goals and assisting on 49 others. She helped led the powerhouse UNC squad to national championships in 2003 and 2006. In her final three seasons she was an All-America first team selection, following her consensus national freshman of the year honor in 2003. A two-time Academic All-America in 2005 (second team) and 2006 (first team), O'Reilly was awarded a distinctive NCAA Topday's Top VIII Award following her senior year. In 2006, O'Reilly's No. 20 jersey was retired by the UNC program,
O'Reilly is one of the world's most capped soccer stars with over 200 international appearances to her name. She is also the eighth most capped player in USWNT history.
In September of 2016, O'Reilly announced her retirement from the Women's National Team after 15 years, and retired on September 15 after a friendly match against Thailand, held in Columbus, Ohio.
She signed with the Arsenal Ladies Football Club in Londone on January 18th, 2017. O'Reilly previously played professionally for FC Kansas City and Boston Breakers of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Sky Blue FC of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS).
Stephanie White - Purdue University '99, Basketball
Following a decorated college career at Purdue and a standout professional career in the WNBA, White has continued her professional achievements as a successful women's basketball coach at both the professional and collegiate levels.
Currently, White serves as head coach of the Vanderbilt women's basketball team. She was named to the position in May of 2016, becoming just the fifth all-time head coach in the history of the Vanderbilt program.
In high school, White was named National Prep Player-of-the-Year by Gatorade, Parade magazine and USA Today as a senior at Seeger Memorial High School (West Lebanon, Ind.), and parlayed those distinctions into an outstanding collegiate career.
She was the NCAA's Player of the Year on Purdue's NCAA national championship team in 1999, and then, as a professional, led her WNBA Indiana Fever team into the finals in her first year of competition.
At Purdue, White averaged double-figure scoring in all four seasons of her college career, scoring 2,182 points which included a 20.2 points per game scoring average as a senior as she led Purdue to the NCAA title. That season, she also received the Wade Trophy (given to the nation's top female player) and was named Big Ten Conference Player of the Year. Earning multiple All-America honors as a junior and senior, she was a four-year All-Big Ten selection. Her college coach was Carolyn Peck, former Vanderbilt star and now the Commodores' associate coach.
White was inducted into the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame on April 21, 2006.
White also was a classroom standout. Earning Phi Beta Kappa honors, she was selected Academic All-America twice with third team (1998) and first team (1999) recognition. As a senior, she was named the 1999 Academic All-America of the Year for women's basketball (university division). White graduated from Purdue with a degree in communications (public relations).
Prior to coaching, White enjoyed a productive five-year WNBA career, spending one season with the Charlotte Sting and four with the Indiana Fever, before retiring in 2004. She was named to the Fever's All-Decade Team that was announced in 2009.
After her WNBA playing days, she turned to coaching in the collegiate ranks, serving as an assistant at Toledo (2005-07), Kansas State (2004-05) and Ball State (2003-04).
She began coaching in the WNBA in 2007 and also served as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and the Big Ten Network. An assistant coach with the Chicago Sky from 2007-2010, she then joined the Fever staff and was promoted to associate head coach in 2014 before being named head coach after Lin Dunn's retirement. In 2015, she guided the Fever to the WNBA finals, becoming the first rookie coach in league history to lead a team to the finals.
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