DALLAS -- Sally Ride acknowledged that she had received many awards in the 20 years since her first space flight, but she noted that the NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award, which she received during the Honors Dinner at the 2005 NCAA Convention, means more to her than most.

Ride received the "Teddy," the NCAA's most prestigious award, as the finale to the Honors Dinner, which also recognized the Top VIII, Silver Anniversary and Inspiration Award winners.

Ride, a former tennis student-athlete at Stanford University, played on the team without a scholarship, using facilities that were inferior to those used by her male counterparts, driving herself to and from competitions that were held against teams that were not in the same conference as the men's team.

Since the advent of Title IX and its eventual implementation, women are afforded many more opportunities to participate in athletics than they were when Ride was a student-athlete, she said.

Now she wants to apply the same principle that worked for female athletes to girls who are curious about science, and she has founded an organization dedicated to nurturing their interest in the subject and encouraging them to pursue careers in scientific fields.

"We eventually want our culture to be as supportive of a girl who wants to be a rocket scientist as it now is of a girl who wants to be a soccer player," Ride said.

Being a student-athlete taught her skills necessary to her success as an astronaut, she said, including teamwork, communication and collaboration as well as a commitment to do what it takes to get the job done. Her experiences as a student-athlete helped make her dreams come true, and she encouraged NCAA administrators and coaches to continue training their student-athletes for their futures.

"The academic and athletics programs at your institutions are preparing hundreds of thousands of young men and women to reach for the stars and fulfill their dreams, too," she said.

The student-athlete experience

Stanford University swimmer Tara Kirk spoke on behalf of the Top VIII winners, who are: Kelly Albin, a lacrosse student-athlete from the University of California, Davis; Caesar Garcia, a swimming and diving student-athlete from Auburn University; Kelly Mazzante, a basketball student-athlete from Pennsylvania State University; Kay Mikolajczak, a basketball and track and field student-athlete from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh; Ogonna Nnamani, a volleyball student-athlete from Stanford University; Angela Ruggiero, an ice hockey student-athlete from Harvard University; and Kelly Wilson, a soccer student-athlete from the University of Texas at Austin.

Kirk thanked all the unnamed people who helped the Top VIII winners achieve the goals: parents, coaches, friends, academic advisors, teammates and other family members.

Kirk also said that though they may excel at sports with their own physical strength, will and determination, they wouldn't be able to do it without the support of all those working to make intercollegiate athletics not only possible, but about more than just the game.

"There are those I cannot name, those who, behind the scenes, worked to ensure the success of college athletics," she said. "I will miss college sports more than you can know."

The Silver Anniversary Award recognizes former student-athletes who completed successful collegiate careers in various sports and went on to excel in their chosen professions. This year's class included Mark Johnson, former ice hockey player for the University of Wisconsin, Madison; Gary Lawrence, former ice hockey player and golfer for Yale University; Paul McDonald, former football player for the University of Southern California; Greg Meredith, former ice hockey player for the University of Notre Dame; Joan Benoit Samuelson, former track and field runner and field hockey player for Bowdoin College; and Dave Stoldt, former gymnast for the University of Illinois, Champaign.

Lawrence thanked the NCAA Honors Committee on behalf of the group, and, as Kirk did before him, paid tribute to families, coaches and teachers. He said the qualities the winners cultivated as student-athletes, including teamwork and strength of character in the face of adversity, played a large part in their success after their college careers.

"Many small victories can lead to great successes," he said, adding that he believes America's sporting institutions can make a major impact on the political climate of the world. He told a story about a young boy from Cameroon who was playing on an ice hockey team in Hong Kong with youngsters from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. After a game against a team of Arab nationals, the two squads spent some relaxation time together. Watching them interact, Lawrence said, illustrated for him the "awesome power and potential of sport."

Inspirational messages

Three Inspiration Award winners accepted their honors as well. Kaia Jergenson, a basketball student-athlete from Lipscomb College who faced adversity when a sudden illness forced the amputation of her legs and the fingers of her right hand, said the way the Lipscomb community treated her after the illness showed that the school was where she was "meant to be."

A soccer player as a youngster, Jergenson said she wasn't that skilled at basketball at first, but hard work and determination won her a scholarship to Lipscomb after a successful high-school career. After her illness, she said she learned to take value in little victories, like the first time she used the bathroom alone and the first time she could feed herself.

"I often have to remind myself how far I have come," she said. "It is important to have goals, but you can't do it overnight."

Michelle Thomas, a track and field student-athlete at the University of Oklahoma, has spent the last year of her life facing more adversity than most people. Already raising her two young nieces with the help of herntwin sister, Thomas learned nearly one year ago of the murder of another sister. She used all the money she had saved to pay for school to pay for a funeral for her sister instead.

"I am here today because I gave. I gave everything I had to ensure a proper home-going for my sister," she said. "I was certain that God would not forsake me, and I have been blessed."

Thomas later received an academic scholarship just when she thought she might have to hang up her spikes. Through tears, she accepted the award in memory of her sister.

The final Inspiration Award went to Macharia Yuot, a track and field and cross country student-athlete from Widener University.

Yuot is one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" who faced famine, drought and the violence of militant rebels to walk 1,000 miles through three African nations to safety. Only 9 years old at the time, Yuot was one of the older boys to survive the journey. Eventually, through a U.S. government program, Yuot was transferred to America, where he attended Widener.

"It has been said that a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step," he said in accepting the award. "I'm not sure I ever would have believed that my journey across Africa would lead me to be where I am now."

He urged the crowd to live by his personal mantra: "You have to think big and act big, and big things will happen."

"It is very important to open to what life gives you and remember the mantra," he said.

Carol Cartwright, president of Kent State University and chair of the NCAA Executive Committee, also honored a list of former student-athletes killed in action while serving in the military as part of the Honors Dinner program.