Robert K. Kraft, owner and chief executive officer of the National Football League's New England Patriots, will be the 39th recipient of the NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award, presented annually to a distinguished citizen of national reputation and outstanding accomplishment who was a varsity letter-winner in college.

Kraft is founder and chair of the Kraft Group of Companies, a holding company with interests in paper and packaging and sports, entertainment and venture investing.

Kraft attended Columbia University on an academic scholasrship, and earned the first of his two athletics letters as a member of the freshman football team in 1959. The following season, he started every game at halfback and safety for the varsity lightweight squad, but a 1961 injury ended his playing career.

After graduating from Columbia in 1963 with degrees in history and economics, he attended Harvard Business School on a fellowship and earned a master's degree in business administration.

Kraft will be honored at the Honors Celebration January 7 in Indianapolis during the 100th NCAA Convention.