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The NCAA News -- June 7, 1999

North Carolina's Dean Smith named Enberg Award winner

Former University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, men's basketball coach Dean Smith has been named the winner of the Dick Enberg Award and will be honored at the GTE Academic All-America Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Dallas June 10.

The award was established two years ago in honor of NBC sportscaster Dick Enberg, who will present this year's award to Smith. It is given annually to "a person whose actions and commitments have furthered the meaning and reach of the Academic All-America programs and/or the student-athlete while promoting the values of education and academics."

Smith, a University of Kansas graduate, coached for 36 years at North Carolina, and his 879 wins are the most in NCAA basketball history. He coached eight Academic All-Americans, which ranks him third all-time in that category among basketball coaches, and 97 percent of the players who earned a varsity letter graduated.

He led the Tar Heels to 17 Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season titles, 11 Final Fours, two national championships (1982 and 1993) and 27 straight years of at least 20 wins. He also coached the United States team to a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, making him one of only three coaches ever to win an Olympic gold medal and an NCAA championship. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.

GTE, in conjunction with the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), established the Hall of Fame in 1988 to honor former college scholar-athletes who have excelled in their professions and have made substantial contributions to their communities. The 1999 inductees are Val Ackerman, Dr. John Fowler, Jr., Chad Hennings, Jeannie Henningsen and Jolanda Jones.

To be eligible, an individual must have been a GTE Academic All-America Team member while in school and have graduated from college at least 10 years ago with an overall grade-point average of at least 3.000 (4.000 scale). The 1999 inductees were selected from a group of 100 individuals who were nominated by their institution's sports information office.