Williams College's John E. Berry Jr., a two-sport student-athlete who gave up his final year of eligibility in football to donate a kidney to his older brother, is the winner of the NCAA Special Award for Valor.

The award, which is presented only in years in which there is a worthy candidate, recognizes a coach or administrator currently associated with intercollegiate athletics, or to a current or former varsity letter-winner at an NCAA institution who, when confronted with a situation involving personal danger, averted or minimized potential disaster by courageous action or noteworthy bravery.

Had he played football this fall, Berry would have served as the Ephs' captain for the second straight year. He already had missed his sophomore season because of a knee injury that required reconstructive surgery, which was successful. As a junior, he was an all-New England Small College Athletic Conference performer who returned two punts for touchdowns and helped lead the team to an 8-0 record.

Before deciding to make the donation that would save his brother, DeAngelo, from a lifetime of dialysis, Berry had dropped out of school for a semester in order to be eligible to play his one last season of college football while taking classes at Williams this fall. The operation, which took place two months before the season started, rendered Berry unable to compete in contact sports because of the potentially fatal health risk involved in having only one kidney.