The 37th annual NCAA Honors Dinner featured stories of accomplishment, challenges and triumph -- on the field and off.

There was a voice that reminded many of a young president lost long ago, as Eunice Kennedy Shriver accepted the prestigious Theodore Roosevelt Award with a call for athletics administrators to do more to help those with the least -- children with mental retardation.

There were stories of incredible courage, as the first NCAA Inspiration Awards were accepted by two former student-athletes whose efforts to overcome unusual hardships had demonstrated their tremendous resilience.

There was sadness, as the 1,800 in attendance recalled the sacrifices and losses of September 11.

There was pride, as the membership remembered the athletics accomplishments of the Silver Anniversary Award winners 25 years ago and learned of their work in business, athletics and education since then.

And there was joy, as the Association celebrated eight of its very best exemplars of the term "student-athlete."

'A new time and place'

Shriver, a 1944 graduate of Stanford University and a former student-athlete in swimming and track, became just the second woman to win the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the Association's highest honor.

A sibling to former President John F. Kennedy, Shriver was chosen for the award in part for her dedication to Special Olympics, an organization -- she is credited with founding in 1968 -- that provides athletics opportunities to individuals with mental retardation.

Shriver accepted the award on behalf of Special Olympians and all those mentally disabled individuals who, as recently as 20 years ago, were largely thought of as inconveniences, not as human beings with feelings and potential.

"They are the world's most innocent victims," Shriver said. "They have committed no crime other than being different. And for that, they were taken from their families and placed in institutions. No one believed they could participate in sports. No one believed they could run a race."

Everything changed when mentally disabled people were given a chance, Shriver said. And that chance was on the field of play, in swimming pools and on tracks, where the mentally disabled proved that they could run, they could swim and they could compete.

"They taught us a great lesson," Shriver said of the Special Olympians. "That love and justice and faith do indeed have the power of their own to change the world.

"Special Olympians ask for the freedom to live, the freedom to belong, the freedom to contribute and to have a chance. And, no value in our society holds a higher place than the value of freedom."

Shriver noted that the nation could renew itself after September 11 by seeking out those in society who had the least.

"Since the tragedies of September 11, all Americans carry a torch to a new time and a new place. And we carry that torch, not just by fighting a war but by extending our vision to the most vulnerable -- at home and abroad," she said.

Shriver noted that the Special Olympics movement had pledged to bring the world of sport to a million people through Special Olympics by 2005, and she asked the athletics administrators in the audience to lend a hand.

"I invite you today to join us," she said. "If you are young, you can cheer. If you are an athlete, you can coach. Each of your universities can run clinics. You can open your gymnasiums.

"Tonight, I ask you to join this action, to make room in your hearts, in your gymnasiums and on your campuses. Many universities have already helped, many of you are already involved, but maybe we can do more. Back in 1968, when those children in their tattered uniforms ran the first races and proved that they could compete, they inspired the world. And maybe they will inspire it again."

Stories of courage and bravery

For the first time, the Association presented the NCAA Inspiration Awards. Two former student-athletes were chosen: Maggie Maloy, a track and cross country runner from Defiance College; and Sam Paneno, a running back from the University of California, Davis.

Clark Kellogg, CBS broadcaster and the event's emcee, spoke of the winners' determination.

"Through incredible perserverance, dedication and determination, not only have they each overcome these life-changing events, but they now serve as role models to others."

In high school, Maloy was abducted, raped, shot five times and left for dead. She made a comeback and went on to Defiance, where she was a vital member of the track and cross country teams. Then, Maloy was in a car accident and broke her pelvis in three places. Again she came back to run again, graduated on time and earned all-conference honors twice in both cross country and track.

"I promise to always try to live my life as an inspiration to others," she said. "I accept this award on behalf of all the student-athletes out there who are inspirations, in competition and in their daily lives, but who will not ever be recognized with such a prestigious award as this."

Paneno had to have his lower right leg amputated as the result of a life-threatening football injury in 1999. He graduated in December and plans to pursue a career in public interest law.

Best of the best

The winners of the NCAA Today's Top VIII represent the very best of the 361,000 student-athletes in the nation, Kellogg said.

The winners were: Kimberly Black, a swimmer and biology major from the University of Georgia; Emily Bloss, a basketball and track and field student-athlete and recreation major from Emporia State University; Andre Davis, a football and track and field student-athlete and management and marketing major from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Misty Hyman, a swimmer and international relations major from Stanford University; Leah Juno, a track and cross country student athlete and mathematics and computer science major from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point; Nancy Metcalf, a volleyball student-athlete and advertising major from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Bryce Molder, a golf student-athlete and management major from Georgia Institute of Technology; and Ruth Riley, a basketball student-athlete and psychology major from Notre Dame University.

Davis accepted the award on behalf of the Top VIII.

"Although all of these individuals honored are great athletes, they also are great students and great models for our youth," he said.

Betsy King, a former student-athlete in golf, field hockey and basketball at Furman University and the first LPGA player to surpass the $6 million mark in winnings, accepted on behalf of the six Silver Anniversary honorees.

"This year's winners have contributed greatly to society and have used their influence to make a positive difference in the world around them," she said. "I believe the lessons we learn in athletics -- the discipline, hard work, sacrifice and patience -- are just as important as the lessons we learn in the classroom -- and lead to success in life."

The Silver Anniversary Award winners were: Richard C. Chapman, Augustana College (South Dakota); Maurice "Bo" Ellis, Marquette University; Herman R. Frazier, Arizona State University; King; John Naber, University of Southern California; and Rodney Slater, Eastern Michigan University.

For complete biographical information on all of the honorees, see the January 7, 2002, issue of The NCAA News