The NCAA News - News Features

Payne to receive Theodore Roosevelt Award

William Porter "Billy" Payne, president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG), is this year's recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the most prestigious honor bestowed on an individual by the NCAA.

Payne is the 30th person to receive the "Teddy," which will be awarded at the annual NCAA honors dinner January 12 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Payne was instrumental in leading ACOG's pursuit and attainment of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. He is the first person in modern Olympic history to lead an Olympic bid effort and, after winning the bid, to continue uninterrupted as president of the Olympic organizing committee responsible for administering the Games.

A 1969 graduate of the University of Georgia, Payne starred on the football field as an all-Southeastern Conference receiver and defensive end. Payne led the Bulldogs in receptions as a sophomore and was a part of three Georgia teams that lost just four games and played in three major bowls from 1966 through 1968.

Payne was moved to defensive end for his senior season, when the Bulldogs won the SEC title and played in the Sugar Bowl. Payne earned all-America honors from The Associated Press and was named Georgia's most outstanding senior athlete.

Also an academic all-America selection, Payne served as vice-president of Georgia's student body and was awarded postgraduate scholarships by the NCAA and the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.

After attaining his undergraduate degree and a law degree from Georgia, Payne was an attorney in private practice until 1988, when he accepted the top position with ACOG.

His civic contributions in addition to his work with ACOG are numerous, including service as a member of the University of Georgia Foundation Board of Trustees, the University of Georgia Athletic Board of Directors, and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Payne also is a founding member of the Georgia State Games and president and chief executive officer of the Georgia Amateur Athletic Foundation.