One recipient of the Award of Valor and three recipients of the Inspiration Award will be recognized at the January 11 Honors Dinner.

The Award of Valor is presented to 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. The honor is not automatically awarded each year. Only nine previous awards have been given.

This is the third year for the Inspiration Award, which is presented to 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 life-altering situation used perseverance, dedication and determination to overcome the event and now serves as a role model to give hope and inspiration to others in similar situations.

Like the Award of Valor, the Inspiration Award is not automatically given annually; however, there have been recipients in each of the award's three years thus far.

Award of Valor

This year's recipient of the Award of Valor is Jimmy Baxter, a basketball and track and field student-athlete at the University of South Florida.

On December 12, 2002, Baxter, a two-sport student-athlete, helped two men trapped in a vehicle after a violent crash. Baxter was able to smash the rear window and pull the two men to safety.

For Baxter, the courageous rescue was his second turn at playing the hero. Just two months before that incident, he scared away a man attempting to strangle a woman near his apartment. Baxter, who dreams of competing in the Olympics in the high jump, earned a commendation for his heroics from the Tampa City Council.

Inspiration Awards

Receiving Inspiration Awards are Mike Nyeholt, a former swimmer at the University of Southern California; Emily Miller, a soccer student-athlete at the University of Tennessee, Martin; and Heather Denison, a volleyball student-athlete at the University of Portland.

Nyeholt, a member of the Southern California swim team from 1975 to 1978, transformed a personal tragedy into an opportunity to help physically challenged individuals succeed.

The three-time all-American was paralyzed from the chest down after a January 1981 motorcycle accident. Among other injuries, the crash left Nyeholt with a broken neck.

Nyeholt's best friend and former swimmer, Ron Orr, organized "Swim For Mike" in an effort to raise funds to purchase a specially equipped van for Nyeholt after his long rehabilitation process. The first edition of the swim-a-thon netted more than $58,000, more than enough to purchase the van. Nyeholt suggested the excess be used to create a fund for other physically challenged athletes.

The Physically Challenged Athlete's Fund at Southern California is the only one of its kind in the nation. Since its establishment in March 1981, the swim-a-thon has raised more than $3 million, which has translated into 40 full scholarships for physically challenged athletes to pursue degrees at Southern California.

That first swim-a-thon inspired Nyeholt to make a promise to swim in the event in the future to help raise money. That next year, Nyeholt kept his promise. As a result, the name of the event was changed to "Swim With Mike." Nyeholt, who currently is a relationship manager at a financial institution, serves as co-chair of the event's organizing committee.

Miller is a former Tennessee-Martin women's soccer player who is using her battle with bone cancer to inspire others.

In April of this year, the two-year soccer player and dean's list honoree began experiencing a persistent pain in her leg. When it became unbearable, Miller visited the family orthopedic surgeon. Less than a week later, after being referred to an oncologist and undergoing a biopsy, she was admitted to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with a diagnosis of osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. Osteosarcoma typically strikes children ages 10 to 20. At the time, Miller was 20.

She underwent surgery to remove suspicious spots on her left lung and survived a collapsed lung. Miller then endured a seven-hour limb-sparing operation to remove the tumor in her femur. The surgery included removing portions of her femur and tibia and her entire knee. A titanium prosthesis was implanted inside the leg from the top of the thigh to just above the ankle.

Less than 36 hours after the limb-sparing surgery, Miller was released from intensive care and she was able to leave the hospital just five days later. Over the course of 14 weeks of rehabilitation, Miller trained herself to walk again. Her doctors attribute the early diagnosis and her recovery to her excellent physical conditioning as an athlete.

Miller has become a spokesperson for St. Jude's Hospital and will appear in an video with Marlo Thomas, daughter of the hospital's founder, Danny Thomas.

Denison, the third Inspiration Award winner, was abandoned by her father at the age of 2. She spent time with her grandmother because her mother worked at various jobs to support the family. Her grandmother provided a much-needed stability in Denison's young life. But that stability was interrupted when one evening as Denison and her grandmother were walking across a street. Denison, who was just 7 years old at the time, stepped up on the curb, but felt her grandmother's hand slip away. Her grandmother had been struck by a passing car and killed instantly.

Afterward, Denison's mother tumbled into a deep depression. With her mother no longer able to care for her, Denison grew self-sufficient. She also excelled in volleyball, basketball and track.

As a freshman in high school, Denison's life took another sharp turn. After she moved in with her best friend's family, her mother left all of Denison's belongings on the porch with a letter. Within six months, Denison had lost contact with her mother, who became homeless and lived on the street.

But Denison formulated a goal: to go to college and obtain a degree. She was motivated by a desire to earn an athletics scholarship because she knew it would open doors that would otherwise be closed. So she stopped competing in basketball and focused entirely on volleyball.

With the assistance of her surrogate family and the support of multiple part-time jobs, Denison joined an elite club volleyball team. She caught the attention of college coaches and eventually was awarded a full grant-in-aid to Portland. Now a senior, Denison captains the team. The life science and nursing double major is minoring in exercise sports physiology with an ultimate goal of becoming a nurse practitioner.