National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2000
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The NCAA News
Six former student-athletes who enjoyed prominent collegiate careers in a variety of sports while going on to succeed in various professional fields are this year's NCAA Silver Anniversary Award recipients.
The award honors former student-athletes who have distinguished themselves since completing their college athletics careers 25 years ago. The award winners were selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, which is composed of administrators at member institutions and distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes.
This year's honorees are Alpha V. Alexander (College of Wooster, basketball, volleyball, tennis and lacrosse); Archie Griffin (Ohio State University, football); Steve Largent (University of Tulsa, football); Steve Raible (Georgia Institute of Technology, football and track and field); Lee Roy Selmon (University of Oklahoma, football); and Wally Walker (University of Virginia, basketball).
Following are biographical sketches of this year's Silver Anniversary Award winners. The recipients will be honored Sunday January 7 at the Honors Dinner during the NCAA Convention in Orlando, Florida.
Alpha V. Alexander
College of Wooster
Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis and Lacrosse
Independent Consultant
The four-sport star led the Wooster women's basketball team to four Ohio State tournament appearances as a four-year varsity starter. In volleyball, she led her school to the AIAW National Tournament, which Wooster hosted in 1973, and she was a three-year varsity starter. She also was a varsity starter in tennis in 1973 and a junior varsity starter and letter-winner for the lacrosse team in 1974.
Voted the Outstanding Student at Wooster in 1976, she won the Martindale Compton Scholarship that same year. She served as a three-year member of the Women's Athletics Association and as president in 1975, when she also served as faculty athletics committee student representative. A four-year member of the Black Students Association, she served as a Resident Assistant on the Wooster campus from 1974-76.
Alexander was director of health and sports advocacy for the YWCA of USA, and National Board and Special Assistant to the chief executive officer of that organization from 1990-00. She was a health promotion specialist, program services, for YWCA's National Board from 1987-90. From
1985-87, she was director of health promotion services for YWCA of San Francisco. Alexander served as the Women's Sports Foundation's director of community projects from 1983-85. She served as acting women's athletics director for Temple University from 1981-83, after having served as assistant director of athletics from 1980-81. From 1977-80, she was a teaching associate in women's athletics at Temple. She also served as assistant to the president of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports from 1977-78.
She has won several awards, including the 1999 Nell Jackson Award; 1997 Billie Jean King Contribution Award, 1996 Olympic Shield Award (the second female recipient in history); and the 1993 National Organization of Women - New York City Susan B. Anthony Award. She was named one of the 30 most valuable professionals in sports in the United States by Black Enterprise Magazine in 1995. In 1993, she became the first African-American female student-athlete inducted to the Wooster W Association Hall of Fame, and received a proclamation from the Council of the City of New York in 1989.
Alexander's current professional and civic contributions include her service as co-founder and vice-president of the Black Women in Sport Foundation since 1992, a board member of the New York City Sport and Commission Foundation and president of the Arthur Ashe Athletic Association.
A United States Olympic Committee member since 1988, she is a member of the Olympic and Pan American Sports Advisory Panel. Alexander has served the USOC as chair for the community-based multisport/
military group, and as the board of directors' national governing body representative for YWCA. She also organized Olympic youth camps in Atlanta in 1996 and in Barcelona in 1992.
Archie Griffin
Ohio State University
Football
Associate Director of Athletics, Ohio State University
Perhaps the most decorated player in college football history, Griffin remains the only player to have won the Heisman Trophy twice. The former Ohio State running back won the award as a junior in 1974, then again as a senior. The three-time first-team all-American also won respective National Player of
the Year Awards from United Press International and the Wal-
ter Camp Foundation during his Heisman years.
He holds NCAA career records for 100-yard games (33), consecutive 100-yard games (31) and average yards per carry (6.13), and ranks fifth among all NCAA career rushers with 5,177 yards. The 1975 Maxwell Award winner also was an NCAA Top Five Award recipient that year. He remains Ohio State's career rushing leader with 5,589 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Griffin's contributions to his alma mater, as well as his awards, have continued since graduation. He has served as Ohio State's associate director of athletics since 1994 and has worked in athletics department administration since 1985. He was inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame in 1981, the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1986, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1990 and the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.
After completing his Ohio State career, Griffin entered the National Football League as the Cincinnati Bengals' first-round draft choice in 1976. He played for the Bengals from 1976-83, serving as co-captain and ranking among career leaders in average yards per carry (4.1).
Griffin's professional and civic contributions include membership on the Archie Griffin Scholarship Fund Board of Directors; Archie and Bonita Griffin Foundation Fund board; Central Ohio Breathing Association Board of Directors; Columbus Youth Foundation Board of Directors; National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame member; and the NFL Players Advisory Council.
In 1998, he served as chair of the YMCA of Central Ohio's annual giving campaign.
Steve Largent
University of Tulsa
Football
United States Congressman
Largent was a two-time national leader in touchdown receptions with 14 each in 1974 and 1975 while at the University of Tulsa. He was an all-American in 1975 and was a two-time all-Missouri Valley Conference first-team selection.
Lar-gent caught 136 passes for 2,385 yards and 32 touchdowns from 1973-75, leading the MVC in receiving yards in 1974 and 1975. He ranks fifth on Tulsa's career receiving chart.
After graduating from Tulsa, Largent was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the fourth round of the NFL draft in 1976 and was traded to the newly formed Seattle Seahawks the next year. He retired in 1989 as the NFL record-holder for career receptions (819), yards (13,089), touchdowns (100), consecutive games with a reception (177), 50-catch seasons (10) and 1,000-yard seasons (eight) and ranked third all-time with 40 career 100-yard games.
The seven-time Pro Bowl participant set that game's career yardage record (since surpassed by Jerry Rice) and ranks third in career receptions in that game. The Seahawks' team offensive captain from 1979-83 and 1985-89, he led the team in receptions and yards in each of the franchise's first 12 seasons. Largent was a five-time team MVP (voted by teammates), played in more games (200) with more starts (197) than any other player in team history and missed only 10 games in his 14-year career. He also was the first member of the Seahawks to be inducted into the NFL Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
In addition to his athletics achievements, Largent was a Young Life student leader, a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was named one of eight Outstanding Seniors by the school's alumni board. He was named a University of Tulsa Distinguished Alumnus in 1990 and was inducted into the university's athletics hall of fame in 1991.
Sole proprietor of his own advertising and marketing consulting firm from 1989-94, Largent was elected to the 103rd Congress in 1994 as a representative from the 1st District of Oklahoma.
Largent is a member of the House Commerce Committee; Energy and Power subcommittee; Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection subcommittees; and Finance and Hazardous Materials subcommittee. He is a former member of the Congressional Budget Committee; Health Care Task Force; and Science Committee, and served on the Energy and Environment and Space and Aeronautics subcommittees. A former spokesperson for NFL's United Way campaign and member of his alma mater's Board of Trustees from 1990-93, Largent also is a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Focus on the Family, a Christian ministry.
Steve Raible
Georgia Institute of Technology
Football and Track and Field
Television News Anchor; KIRO-TV, Seattle
An honorable mention all-American and all-Southeastern Independent receiver/tight end for Georgia Tech in 1975, Raible posted career totals of 24 catches for 452 yards and five touchdowns and averaged 18.8 yards per catch. He had 13 receptions for 277 yards in 1975, a 21.3-yard-per-catch average and four touchdowns. In addition, his blocking helped the Jackets average a school-record 328.7 yards rushing per game. The year before, he was a key blocker on a unit that averaged 287.5 yards rushing per game, the second-best figure in school history, and was the team's second-leading receiver with eight catches for 150 yards (18.8-yard average) and one touchdown.
He finished his career as a three-year letter-winner and two-year starter. He recently was named to Georgia Tech's all-era team, which covered the years 1967-79.
A two-sport star, Raible also excelled in track, earning Georgia Collegiate Track Runner of the Year honors in 1974. A three-year letter-winner, Raible's most impressive time was 9.5 seconds in the 100-yard dash.
The dean's list student received a bachelor of science degree in industrial management and was named Georgia Tech's top student-athlete in 1976.
A news anchor for Seattle's Edward R. Murrow Award-winning news organization at KIRO-TV (CBS affiliate) since 1992, Raible anchors the station's 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscast, Monday through Friday. He is a five-time Emmy Award winner and has twice been named Best Anchor.
An analyst for ESPN's coverage of arena and college football in 1988-89, Raible has been a color analyst for Seattle Seahawks NFL radio broadcasts since 1982. As a sports anchor, he has covered the Winter Olympics, the Rose Bowl, the National Basketball Association all-star game and the Super Bowl.
Before going into broadcast journalism, Raible was an original member of the Seahawks, having been selected in second round of the 1976 draft. He played six years with Seattle, serving as a part-time starter and special teams player from 1976-81 His career totals for 84 games are 68 receptions for 1,017 yards (15.0 yards per catch) and three touchdowns.
His civic activities include serving as spokesman for construction of Seattle's Ronald McDonald House, and as a Cancer Lifeline Volunteer. Raible has won the Outstanding Role Model Award from Big Brothers/Big Sisters and a community-service award from Boy Scouts of America, and he twice was named the United Way Volunteer of the Year in Seattle/King County.
An emcee and keynote speaker for dozens of charitable and community fund-raisers, Raible is a former board member for Special Olympics and Ronald McDonald Children's Charities.
Lee Roy Selmon
University of Oklahoma
Football
Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs, University of South Florida
The 1975 Outland Trophy recipient as the outstanding interior lineman in college football, Selmon's defensive exploits led Oklahoma to an 11-0 season and the consensus wire-service national championship in 1974, as well as the 1975 Orange Bowl championship. The Sooners posted a 43-2-1 record during the two-time consensus first-team all-American's career. The recipient of the 1975 Vince Lombardi Trophy, the defensive lineman finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting that year and also played in the Hula and Japan Bowls.
A graduate fellowship winner from the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, he was a two-time all Big Eight Conference selection. An outstanding student, he was a GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American as a senior, a two-time dean's list honoree and a National Football Foundation scholar-athlete.
Selmon continued his domination on the football field with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976-86. The five-time NFL all-Pro selection made the Pro Bowl six times and was co-MVP of the game in 1981, the same year in which he helped lead Tampa Bay to the NFC Central Division title. He also was a four-time NFL Players Association NFC Defensive Lineman of the Year and a seven-time all-NFC selection (by UPI and Sports Illustrated). The College Football Hall of Fame inductee's most successful season was 1979, when was recognized by The Associated Press and The Sporting News as the NFL's outstanding defensive player.
The awards continued after his athletics career ended, including his 1995 induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame; Walter Camp Foundation Alumnus of the Year selection in 1996; GTE/CoSIDA Academic Hall of Fame inductee (first Sooner selected) in 1994; and National Football Foundation Hall of Fame inductee (first Sooner selected) in 1988. His No. 63 Tampa Bay jersey was retired in 1986.
A finalist for the 1983 Byron "Whizzer" White Award given by the NFL for humanitarian service among NFL players, Selmon began a successful banking career in 1978, while still playing in the NFL. He served as vice-president of marketing at First Florida Bank from 1986-93 and has been a consistent contributor to the Tampa area.
A member of the Outback Steakhouse Board of Directors, Selmon's civic activities include board membership with the Tampa Sports Authority, Florida State Fair Authority, Outback Bowl, University of South Florida's Institute of Black Life and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He also is active in United Way, Easter Seals, American Cancer Society and Special Olympics, and is former chair of the United Negro College Fund Sports Committee.
Wally Walker
University of Virginia
Basketball
President/General Manager, Seattle SuperSonics
Walker led Virginia's basketball team to its first NCAA tournament berth and only Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship in 1976, becoming the only Cavaliers player to win ACC tournament MVP honors. The second-team all-ACC selection scored 73 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in that tournament, including 21 points and seven rebounds in the championship-game defeat of North Carolina. That same year, he was the school's Outstanding Athlete Award recipient after leading Virginia in scoring for the second straight year. His scoring average of 22.1 points per game that year ranks sixth all-time at Virginia.
Walker's career scoring average of 17.8 points per game ranks eighth all-time at the school. The four-year starter ranks fifth in career field goals with 779 and career scoring with 1,849 points. Also an outstanding student, Walker was a first-team CoSIDA/GTE Academic All-American and dean's list student in 1976. His No. 41 jersey is one of six that Virginia has retired.
Upon graduation, Walker entered the National Basketball Association with the Portland Trailblazers as the fifth overall selection in the 1976 NBA draft. He played on two NBA championship teams, helping Portland to the only title in its history in 1977, and helping the Seattle SuperSonics to their only NBA championship in 1979. He appeared in 54 playoff games with the Sonics. In 1981-82, he started in 70 consecutive games for Seattle before a finger injury caused him to sit out. He finished his NBA playing career in 1984 with the Houston Rockets.
Walker has been president and general manager of the Sonics since1994. He finished second to Cleveland's Wayne Embry for The Sporting News' 1997-98 Executive of the Year Award. In his second season as president/
general manager, Walker steered Seattle to its first NBA finals since his playing days 17 years earlier.
A member of his alma mater's Board of Visitors, he has served as the vice-chair of the school's National Leadership Gift Council since 1993. His past affiliations include Washington State Special Olympics Board of Directors, 1997-99; Virginia Student Aid Foundation Board of Trustees (University of Virginia), 1992-95; and Muscular Dystrophy Association (Washington State) Board of Directors, 1978-81.