Six former NCAA student-athletes who went on to enjoy success in their chosen professions are this year's NCAA Silver Anniversary Award winners. The award recognizes former student-athletes who have distinguished themselves after completing their intercollegiate athletics careers 25 years ago.

The 2005 Silver Anniversary Award honorees are Mark Johnson (University of Wisconsin, Madison, ice hockey); Gary Lawrence (Yale University, ice hockey and golf); Paul McDonald (University of Southern California, football); Gregory Paul Meredith (University of Notre Dame, ice hockey); Joan Benoit Samuelson (Bowdoin College, track and field and field hockey); and David J. Stoldt (University of Illinois, Champaign, gymnastics).

Following are biographical highlights of this year's award winners, who will be recognized Sunday, January 9, at the Honors Dinner during the NCAA Convention.

Mark Johnson
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Ice hockey
Head women's ice hockey coach, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Collegiate achievements

• Three-year letter-winner and two-time first-team all-American; member of the 1977 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national championship team.

• First Wisconsin student-athlete to earn Western Collegiate Hockey Association rookie of the year honors; led Wisconsin in goals scored all three years of his career.

• Only Badger in school history to score five goals in a game and average more than two points per game in his career.

• Leading scorer for the gold-medal winning 1980 U.S. Olympic men's ice hockey team; recorded five goals and six assists for 11 points as an Olympian.

Professional accomplishments

• Inducted in the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the 1980 Olympic team and for individual achievements that included an 11-year NHL career.

• Coached at the high-school level and was an assistant men's ice hockey coach at Wisconsin from 1996 to 2002.

• Has served as head women's ice hockey coach for the Badgers for three years.

• Named as the 2004 recipient of the Vince Lombardi Award of Excellence, presented by the Vince Lombardi Charitable Fund.

Gary Lawrence
Yale University
Ice hockey, golf
Private equity fund manager

Collegiate achievements

• Four-year letter-winner in ice hockey from 1977 to 1980; also played one year of varsity golf.

• Helped the 1979 Yale ice hockey team to its first ECAC playoff appearance in 11 years.

• Rhodes Scholar; served as captain of the 1980 ice hockey squad.

Professional accomplishments

• Managing partner and founder of Excelsior Capital Asia, an independent Asian-based direct investment firm established in 1998 that invests in companies throughout the Asian region and manages about $230 million in two funds.

• Has been a managing director at Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Group in Hong Kong and at Tiger Management in New York; completed tenures with Goldman, Sachs and Company's mergers and acquisitions department and as an attorney with White and Case.

• Co-founder and committee member of the Hong Kong Ice Sports Association, a federation of ice sports groups established to increase community awareness and government support for ice sports in Hong Kong and China.

• Serves as head coach and director of the Typhoons Ice Hockey Club, the leading ice hockey club in Hong Kong, with more than 200 participants.

Paul McDonald
University of Southern California
Football
Director of Commercial Lender Services, First American Title Insurance Company; football broadcast analyst

Collegiate achievements

• Quarterbacked Southern California to the 1978 national championship and two Rose Bowl victories.

• NCAA Top V honoree; NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient.

• Established 17 NCAA, Pacific-10 Conference and Southern California records during his collegiate career.

Professional accomplishments

• Played professional football in the NFL for eight years.

• Served as associate director and regional sales manager for National Commercial Services.

• Worked in the asset management division at Wells Fargo and as a partner at Spectrum Alliance Group, a management firm.

• Worked in Merrill Lynch's sports division and completed stints in private banking sales and as president of Direct Vision, a marketing company.

• Hosted a weekly Pacific-10 Conference football television show from 1992 to 1995.

• Named as the best radio color commentator by the Southern California Broadcasters Association in 2002; began his seventh year as a radio analyst for Southern California football in 2004.

• Founding member of StreetSmart Kids, an organization designed to educate children and parents about child safety.

Gregory Paul Meredith
University of Notre Dame
Ice hockey
Managing director, Putnam Lovell NBF Securities

Collegiate achievements

• Four-year letter-winner; served as team captain for two seasons.

• Established records for career goals (104) and career power-play goals (43).

• Rhodes Scholar finalist; NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient.

Professional accomplishments

• Played professional ice hockey with the NHL's Calgary Flames from 1980 to 1984; formerly was an assistant men's ice hockey coach at Harvard.

• Completed tenures with Salomon Brothers, Inc., Nationsbanc Capital Markets, Inc., and Fenway Partners, Inc. Also worked as president and CEO at HSBC Capital from 2001 to 2002, and as president and CEO of Printvision, a software company, from 2002 to 2003.

• Founder and president of Proctor Capital, a private investment and strategic advisory firm.

• Established the Meredith Family Foundation in 1997, a contributor to programs such as the LOGAN Center, which provides services to individuals with intellectual disabilities; the St. Joseph's County Special Olympics; and Camp Millhouse, a summer camp for children with significant intellectual disabilities.

Joan Benoit Samuelson
Bowdoin College
Track and field and field hockey
Consultant and community-service
volunteer

Collegiate achievements

• A track and field standout from 1976 to 1979; also competed with the field hockey team in 1975-76.

• Won the inaugural women's marathon at the U.S. Olympic Trails in 1984 and earned an Olympic gold medal in the event that same year.

• Established world-best times with first-place finishes at the Boston Marathon in 1978 and 1983 and is the current American record holder after finishing first at the Chicago Marathon in 1985.

Professional accomplishments

• Has been Nordic coach for Freeport Middle School since 2001 and also has been an athlete and consultant for Nike since 1978.

• Served as the long-distance coach for the women's track team at Boston University from 1981 to 1983; has conducted running and health and fitness clinics nationally and internationally and is the author of two books.

• Inducted into the International Women's Sports Foundation Hall of Fame and the National Distance Running Hall of Fame.

• Founded and served as chair of the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K road race, established in 1997; also has performed public service with numerous organizations, including the National Resources Council of Maine, the Alzheimer's Foundation, the M.S. Society and the Massachusetts Association for the Blind.

David J. Stoldt
University of Illinois, Champaign
Gymnastics
Principal, CommonwealthPacific Ventures, CFO of nAscent BioSciences, Inc.

Collegiate achievements

• Walked on to the gymnastics squad and became a four-year letter-winner.

• Earned a national championship in the pommel horse in 1980 and was the 1979 and 1980 Big Ten Conference champion.

• Two-time all-American and NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient; captained the team during the 1979-80 season.

Professional accomplishments

• Founded CommonwealthPacific Ventures in 1999 and has been CFO for nAscent BioSciences, Inc., since 2004.

• Served as managing principal for the Environmental Resource Finance Group from 1997 to 2000 and worked as a vice-president at PaineWebber, Inc., for 10 years. Also served as a planner-engineer with Pacific Gas and Electric Company from 1982 to 1985.

• A founding financial contributor to the Fighting Illini Men's Gymnastics Endowment Fund to establish a permanent endowment to benefit the program.

• Spent five years as vice-president of finance and board member for the Oakland Ballet.

• Serves as board member for the University of Illinois Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association.