The NCAA Honors Dinner has always been about success in academics, in athletics and in life -- showcasing the best intercollegiate athletics has to offer.

The "Diamond Jubilee Luncheon," which launched the program at the NCAA Convention in 1966, has evolved over the years into the current Honors Dinner program, which still takes place at the Convention. It remains a high point of the Convention for many attendees.

Numerous aspects of the program have changed over the years as awards have been added and women's sports have joined the NCAA. Also, the Convention's focus has moved away from being an annual Association-wide legislative affair.

But the Honors Dinner remains, and those involved with it want the NCAA membership to remember its worth to the Association and to each institution that has an honoree. Nearly 36 years after the honors program's inception, the NCAA still has a vested interest in promoting what's great about intercollegiate athletics. Where better to illustrate that than at a dinner that recognizes the accomplishments of many of the nation's finest citizens -- who also happen to be current or former student-athletes?

The nomination challenge

There certainly is no shortage of outstanding individuals in intercollegiate athletics. What's difficult however, is persuading institutional representatives to submit nominations. The honors program has always had to deal with soliciting nominations, but that challenge seems to be mounting in recent years.

"We are experiencing a decline, albeit a slight decline, of nominations," said Bob Steitz, chair of the NCAA Honors Committee and associate commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference. "It's something that needs attention. The candidate pool has been outstanding, and it's very difficult to choose from among the candidates we do get, but we'd like to get
more nominations. The committee has identified that as a goal."

Dave Cawood, senior vice-president at Host Communications and former NCAA assistant executive director, administered the honors program from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. He recalls the event as one that gained steadily in popularity as it moved from a luncheon to a dinner and awards were added and expanded. The one challenge that existed even then, however, was gathering nominations.

"I think most of the time that was a problem," Cawood said, "especially for the Teddy and the Silver Anniversary winners. It was always a struggle. We spent a lot of time as a staff researching individuals who might be qualified and then asking their schools to nominate them."

Cawood said the staff would look at the rosters of past Olympic teams and review lists of inductees into football and basketball halls of fame. Staff members also scanned the lists of past all-Americans, and carefully examined profiles of prominent people in magazines, just in case they found a successful community leader who had been a student-athlete.

"We did all types of things to enhance the pool," Cawood said. "We also had to encourage schools to nominate their current student-athletes (for the NCAA student-athlete honor, now known as Today's Top VIII). We would look at lists of academic all-Americans and contact schools and ask if they would nominate people."

The honors program features many of the highest honors the Association offers. Why then would administrators hesitate to nominate people from their schools?

"There seemed to be a perception that the standards were so high that their person wouldn't qualify," Cawood said. "But I think a lot of it was staffing issues. A lot is asked of schools and those individuals (who would assemble a nomination). They have full plates without doing anything more."

Another issue may be a lack of institutional knowledge among those who would be in charge of nominations. Nominations for the Theodore Roosevelt and Silver Anniversary Awards require some knowledge of who institutional alumni are and what their accomplishments have been, both in the community and in athletics.

"There can be rapid changeover in sports information. And those new people might not know as much about the tradition and history of the school when they get on the job," Cawood said.

Yet another challenge is created by the policy that requires award winners to attend the dinner itself. Over the years that has sometimes caused difficulties, but those involved say the dinner without the honorees would be meaningless.

"Without the honorees there, it's not much of a program," Cawood said. "I always believed that if that rule were not enforced there could be a tendency for a lot of (honorees) to not make it a priority to be there. And the honorees are part of what's always made it so popular. You knew those people were going to be there, and you wanted to see them or hear them speak.

"Everyone knew up front they had to attend, and the ADs did a good job of informing honorees of that policy."

Cawood noted that he recalled one football player who flew in from Hawaii to accept a Top VIII Award, then immediately flew back to play in the Hula Bowl.

Then there was the year -- 1991 -- when the master of ceremonies, CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, called the night before and canceled.

"He said he couldn't come and he couldn't say why, but we would know the next morning. Well, it was pretty obvious that it was because of the Gulf War," Cawood said. "We turned on our TVs the next morning, and there he was (on CNN). We understood that things like that happen."

A 'significant' event?

As the focus of the Convention has changed in the last couple of years, the absence of Division I legislation has meant the absence of many Division I institutional representatives. That has lowered overall Convention attendance, but the Honors Dinner continues to pull in nearly every Convention attendee.

"The attendance has been outstanding relative to the number of people who attend the Convention," Steitz said. "With restructuring, fewer schools are sending delegates to the Convention, so fewer people are attending (the Honors Dinner)."

Those involved with the Honors Dinner want to ensure that the dinner remains a significant event for the Association and for intercollegiate athletics as a whole.

Eugene Corrigan, commissioner emeritus of the Atlantic Coast Conference and a member of the NCAA Honors Committee, went to every NCAA Convention and Honors Dinner from 1967 until his retirement three years ago.

"The Honors Dinner was always a highlight of the Convention, and I hope it's still viewed that way," he said. "It's an enormous honor to be selected for one of the awards, and we want to make sure that the vehicle we use to honor (those winners) will be a satisfactory one. I think the Honors Dinner recognizes the cream of the crop. I have always thought it was one of the best events of its kind."

Those selected for awards in the past have been thrilled with the experience, said Host's Cawood, and that thrill should continue.

"Those schools that participated (in the nominations) and had individuals selected always thought it was a great experience," he said. "It was a real thrill for people to be involved with it, from the Teddy winner to the Silver Anniversary winners to the student-athletes. And some of those people, especially the Teddy winners, have won many awards before. But they always said that this (NCAA) one was really special because it recognized them for what they'd done athletically and academically."

Said committee chair Steitz, "We need to work to re-establish the significance and importance of the program, so that when (the nomination) comes across your desk it gets priority. These are our Association's top awards."

Meeting the challenges

One of the ways to ensure that the honors program remains vital is to be sure those in intercollegiate athletics know about the awards and the program. Only then will the committee continue to have quality nominations.

"Our biggest challenge as committee members is to examine all the nominations and select the winners. This is the best committee on which to serve because we only deal with the best in intercollegiate athletics," Steitz said. "We need to increase our exposure so that more people realize the importance of the awards."

In addition to honoring the individuals selected, the awards also honor what the Association -- and intercollegiate athletics -- is all about, Cawood said.

"The honors program has demonstrated over and over that athletes are more than just athletes," Cawood said. "They have made significant contributions in the classroom, and after they graduate they have made significant contributions to their communities. I think it reaffirmed for (those attending the Honors Dinner) that what we're doing is really worthwhile. It put a focus on what the NCAA was really all about, as opposed to focusing on the legislation."

Cawood also noted that having an award winner -- such as the Teddy or one of the Silver Anniversary winners -- can be a proud moment for an institution. In some cases, the feather in the cap may even turn out to belong to the Golden Goose.

"I always thought it was a great way for a school to recognize a former worthy athlete and enhance (the school's) opportunity to attract a longtime financial supporter," Cawood said.

An institutional commitment

Some schools make it a priority to submit nominees for the NCAA honors program. At the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, the athletics department is committed to submitting current and former Huskers for academic and civic awards.

"It's been a tradition here for a long time," said Chris Anderson, Nebraska's sports information director. "When we recruit athletes here, that's often one of their goals, to be recognized for academics as well as athletics. We all share the basic belief here that they are very important awards, not only to the school but to the student-athlete. If you have an academic all-American, they get put on the media guide. They are every bit as important here as the athletics all-Americans."

At Nebraska, the task of nominating individuals for such awards, including NCAA awards, is split between Anderson and Keith Zimmers, an academic counselor and advisor.

"Between the two of us, it works pretty well," Anderson said. "The way we have it set up helps a lot."

Both Zimmers and Anderson track on the deadlines, making use of reminders sent by the NCAA or other organizations. Then Zimmers sends Anderson a list of all athletes who are academically qualified for a particular award. Anderson then examines the candidates' athletics records, decides whom to forward and completes the applications.

Zimmers also tracks on Nebraska alumni, which can be a more difficult task than keeping up with current student-athletes.

"He keeps good records on who goes where and what they do in the community," Anderson said. "It's a lot more work to do the ones who are already gone, but I think it's important. It lets people know that their contributions really do mean something to you and that you, as an institution, value life after sport."

What's ahead?

As the Honors Committee examines ways to increase the visibility of the Honors Dinner and encourage nominations, it's discussing many different ideas.

"We're looking to increase our exposure in a variety of ways," Steitz said. "The NCAA Web site now has a link to awards (www.ncaa.org), and we've increased the mailings to presidents, athletics directors and faculty athletics representatives. The future may call for us to add academic advisors to that mailing list."

Future strategies may include e-mail reminders of deadlines and perhaps standardizing the NCAA's forms so that nominations for the Woman of the Year award and Today's Top VIII, for example, could be done with one form.

"There have been times when we've seen Woman of the Year nominees and even award winners who are not nominated for the Top VIII," Steitz said. "We're looking to work with Woman of the Year to be sure we get all the qualified individuals."

The committee also is looking to get institutions to look at their scholar-athlete award winners and routinely submit them as a matter of course. Other ideas include a strategic marketing and promotions plan, perhaps developing public service announcements and working with the NCAA Foundation.

Other changes also may be on the horizon.

"We've talked about whether the dinner at the Convention is the right place, but where else would we have it?" Steitz said. "We're considering many different options.

"I also think we may want to begin the process of exploring whether the Honors Committee and the Woman of the Year selection committee could work as one group if it would better serve the Association in an encompassing honors program."

Whatever the changes in the future, all involved seek one thing to remain: that the Honors Dinner be about success in academics, athletics and in life -- showcasing the best intercollegiate athletics has to offer -- just as it always has been.