The Honors Dinner will be held January 7, 2001, as part of the NCAA Convention in Orlando, Florida.

Ford, who joined ABC in August 1999, also serves as a regular substitute anchor for "Good Morning America" and "World News Tonight." He joined ABC from NBC News, where he spent the previous five years as co-anchor of the "Today" weekend editions and as chief legal correspondent, reporting judicial stories and providing legal analysis for "Today," "Dateline NBC" and "NBC Nightly News."

The former host of the public television series "Inside the Law" began his television career in 1983 as WCBS-TV's legal commentator. He appeared in a number of Fred Friendly's award-winning PBS series, including "That Delicate Balance II: The Bill Of Rights," for which he served as moderator in 1992. He was an anchor at Court TV from the network's inception in 1991 until 1994. His television work has been honored with a number of awards, including an Emmy and the National Headliner Award.

Ford received his law degree from the Fordham University School of Law in New York City. He helped finance his education with three appearances as a contestant on the television game show "Jeopardy." He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University, where, in addition to excelling academically, he was a three-year starter on the football team.

The 1998 National Father of the Year enjoyed a successful legal career before entering television journalism. He started as an assistant prosecutor in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Later in private practice, Ford was involved in many high-profile cases, among them the state's first death-penalty case and the Wall Street insider-trading scandal. An adjunct professor of law at his alma mater, Ford has written and lectured extensively on legal issues.