The NCAA News - News and FeaturesMarch 30, 1998
NCAS announces finalists for national Giant Steps Awards
Finalists for Giant Steps Awards have been announced by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS).
The national awards, given annually in conjunction with the celebration of National Student-Athlete Day, are presented to individuals who exemplify the ideals of balancing academics, athletics and life pursuits. Each year, award winners are chosen from nominations submitted in the categories of civic leader, courageous student-athlete and coach.
The finalists, by category, and activities for which they are being recognized:
Civic leaders
Julie Foudy -- As cocaptain and midfielder for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, Julie Foudy is a leader among her teammates, and that leadership extends beyond the field -- all the way to Pakistan. Foudy is participating in a sporting goods manufacturer's program to eliminate the use of child-labor in the manufacturing of soccer balls. She became the first world-class soccer player to visit Pakistan, where the overwhelming majority of the world's quality soccer balls are produced. She wanted to see the manufacturer's factory for herself before endorsing the efforts of the company, which provides a stamp with its soccer balls certifying that child labor has not been used in their production.
Mitzi Witchger -- Witchger is a member of the Sports Equity Committee that produced the book "Gender Equity in Athletics" for the Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota High School League. In 1993, Witchger formed GREAT (Girls Really Expect A Team). She is a gender-equity advocate who works with students, parents, community members and administrators to address Title IX athletics-compliance issues.
Dan Doyle -- As founder and executive director of the Institute of International Sports, Doyle has created numerous programs utilizing the power and appeal of sport to promote and improve international relations. His initiative to develop the World-Scholar Athlete Games led to recognition from around the world. Two results came from the success of the World Scholar-Athlete Games: The institute received a major grant allowing the event to be replicated on a state-to-state basis, and it received a separate grant to replicate the event in August 1995 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as part of an ongoing peace process. Another Institute of International Sports program is National Sportsmanship Day, which was conceived by Doyle in 1990. International recognition of that program led to the development of International Sportsmanship Day.
Willis Reed -- During his 10-year career in the NBA, Hall of Famer Willis Reed compiled plenty of statistics, but it was his winning attitude, determination and leadership that inspired teammates and led the New York Knicks to two NBA championships. Currently the senior vice-president of the New Jersey Nets, Reed is still making an impact, but not just in basketball. Reed is involved with Care Link, a program that pursues volunteer projects around the state of New Jersey.
Warrick Dunn -- Dunn, one of pro football's star rookies last season with Tampa Bay, teamed up with the Tampa United Methodist Center and the city to help local families with down payments for homes. Dunn not only made a personal donation to help one recipient with her down payment, but he worked with others to fill the house with Christmas gifts and furnishings.
DiKembe Mutombo -- The Atlanta Hawks basketball standout continually seeks to help those around him. From building a hospital in his hometown of Kinshasa, Africa, to serving as a spokesperson for CARE to providing tickets to every Hawks homes game for Atlanta's underprivileged youth and speaking to students about the importance of education, Mutombo exemplifies the meaning of community service.
Courageous female student-athlete
Heather Lawrence -- As the top diver at the University of Florida, Heather was ready to compete in the NCAA Division I zone diving meet when she was diagnosed with depression, a diagnosis that would take her off the board for a year. Twelve months later, she returned for her senior season. In addition to overcoming her depression and becoming a member of the U.S. National Diving Team and an all-American diver, Lawrence again is a strong leader on her campus. She is the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Jennifer Schwartzott -- According to her coach, Jennifer did not make the soccer team in her freshman year at Ithaca College because she was a step behind her teammates in ability. But her coach believed she would benefit from practicing with the team, and so Schwartzott became the team's manager. Her commitment paid off when she made the 1995 squad. After a strong season, Schwartzott was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, but she continued to perform well academically even as she underwent aggressive chemotherapy. Although she had to leave the college the following spring for treatment, she was still able to complete three classes at a community college and was able to return to Ithaca to attend soccer functions. Schwartzott was unable to compete in 1996 but stayed on as manager of the team. In 1997, with the disease in remission, she was able to play another season.
Kathryn Waldo -- Waldo was born with cystic fibrosis. From an early age, her family and doctor took an aggressive stance against the congenital disease, using sports to make her lungs work harder. Waldo became a key player for the Northeastern University women's ice hockey team, one of the dominant ice hockey programs in the country. In her junior year, she compiled 36 points, up from 29 in her sophomore year. She spent the entire month of November 1997 in a Boston hospital fighting the disease, then played 24 of 32 games this season with 14 points.
Kristine Tomasovic -- As a member of the Villanova University women's volleyball team, Tomasovic twice has been named a Big East Conference Academic All-Star and twice won the Villanova University Student-Athlete Award. She also is very active in the community, working with Habitat for Humanity, for which she will lead a trip to Valdosta, Georgia, this spring.
Jessica Stensland -- Stensland earned enough credits for graduation in three years, but decided to finish out her eligibility with the George Washington University swimming team. She excelled in the pool, excelling in the breaststroke. She also headed the George Washington Student-Athlete Advisory Council while serving as cocaptain of the swim team in her senior year.
Jennifer Orr -- This member of the Georgia Institute of Technology women's volleyball team has had many successes on the court. She helped lead her team to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, while compiling a near-perfect grade-point average in international affairs. But she suffered a broken collarbone, cuts and bruises in an automobile accident and was unable to compete in the league tournament.
Courageous male student-athlete
Dwight Collins -- Collins finished the year for the University of Central Florida football team with a team-high 6.5 yards-per-carry average, rushing for 275 yards and two touchdowns on 42 carries, despite being deaf since the age of 11 months as a result of meningitis. He recently was recognized by Walt Disney World as Disney's Spirit Award winner for being the nation's most courageous student-athlete. Collins' influence also is felt throughout the Central Florida community, where he prompted his running backs coach to learn American sign language and where fans at football games sign from the stands to let Collins know he has made a great play.
Ibrahim Abdul-Matin -- Since Abdul-Matin's arrival at the University of Rhode Island, he has been a standout student, football athlete and leader. The leadership he showed during a university crisis especially stands out. After a violent altercation on campus, Abdul-Matin spoke out about the need to prevent similar events. After the incident, he voluntarily engaged in conflict mediation. After the mediation, he and another student teamed to run for the student body leadership, winning on a platform of unity.
Derrick Mitchell -- As a member of the California State University, Fresno, track team, Mitchell has won five Western Athletic Conference championships. He is poised to enter medical school after college, and he gave up participation in track for a year to study for the MCAT, which he passed with excellent marks, giving him the opportunity to choose from a list of prominent schools across the country. The chemistry (premedicine) major also participates in several outreach programs.
Andre Miller -- As an exceptional point guard for the University of Utah's men's basketball team, which earned a berth in this year's Final Four, Andre Miller plays a vital role in the success of the team. A finalist for the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's player-of-the-year award, Miller has overcome a learning disability to succeed. The sociology major has become involved in the university's Center for Learning. In addition, Miller has talked at various junior high schools in the Salt Lake area.
Coach
Alan Gooch -- After coming in contact with Dwight Collins, a Giant Steps Award nominee this year in the courageous male student-athlete category, Gooch spent a summer learning American sign language in order to improve his effectiveness and ability to coach Collins and help with his transition to the university. Gooch also earned recognition as the 1997 Division I assistant coach of the year from the American Football Coaches Association.
Dorothy Gators -- The head girls' basketball coach at Marshall High School in Chicago has coached successful teams in one of that city's most poverty-stricken areas. Her team is closing in on its 600th victory since the program was started in 1975, and it has won 18 city championships and six state titles. Gators also has been a teacher, mentor and counselor to her players, helping them deal with the constant threats of teenage pregnancy, drugs, gangs and murder and to graduate and attend college.
Dean Smith -- Smith's University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, basketball program won games and graduated players while adhering to the rules. Smith's accomplishments include an NCAA championship in 1982, 11 Final Four appearances, 27 straight 20-victory seasons and 23 straight NCAA tournament appearances. His teams finished in the top three in the Atlantic Coast Conference for 33 consecutive years. Even as he coached his teams to 879 victories, making him the most-victorious coach in college basketball history, Smith always emphasized academics.
Eddie Robinson -- Robinson ended his 56-year career last fall as the most-victorious coach in college football history. His career at Grambling State University began in 1941 and included such impressive results as winning or sharing the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship 17 times, winning eight black college national championships and sending more than 200 of his players to the NFL, including four to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In addition to coaching, Robinson taught his players the importance of family and service to the community.
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