The NCAA News - News and Features

February 9, 1998

Honda Awards dinner to be held during NACDA convention

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the Honda Awards Program have reached an agreement for the annual Honda Awards dinner to be held at the NACDA convention, beginning in June 1998.

The dinner previously has been scheduled during January in conjunction with the annual NCAA Convention.

This year's dinner will occur June 14 during a four-day convention that regularly attracts more than 1,200 athletics administrators, including athletics directors, associate and assistant athletics directors, and conference commissioners and their assistants.

"We are very pleased the Honda Sports Awards Program has chosen the NACDA convention as the site for their annual awards dinner," says Vincent J. Dooley, director of athletics at the University of Georgia and NACDA president. "This is an extraordinary event that we are proud to host."

Last month, the Honda Sports Awards Program celebrated its 20th anniversary with its dinner in Atlanta. In 1977, under the auspices of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), the Broderick Company began an awards program that encompassed 17 sports sponsored by the AIAW. It included the Broderick Cup, which was presented to the overall winner.

In the early stages of the program, the sports awards were voted on by all AIAW member institutions. NCAA involvement in the program begin in 1981. The American Honda Motor Company became the program's sponsor in 1985.

The program currently awards the Honda-Broderick Cup, honoring the best woman collegiate athlete in Division I; individual awards in 11 sports -- basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball; Divisions II and III Athlete of the Year Awards; the Inspiration Award; and the Award of Merit.

Nominations for the awards are made by a coaches committees representing each sport and then are submitted by ballot to senior women administrators of NCAA member institutions.

The program is governed by a three-person executive committee and an advisory board that includes individuals from NCAA institutions, members of the media, organizational representatives and a former award recipient.