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NCAA names Silver Anniversary winners

The NCAA has named six former student-athletes as recipients of its Silver Anniversary Award that annually recognizes distinguished individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their college athletics careers.

The 2011 recipients are Lisa Caputo, Teresa Edwards, Joe Girardi, Tim Green, Bo Jackson and Scott Verplank. Winners will accept their awards at the 2011 NCAA Convention.

Following are biographical capsules of the winners.

Lisa Caputo

School: Brown

Graduation year: 1986

Major: Political Science and French

Sport: Field Hockey and Lacrosse

Career highlights: Caputo currently serves as executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Citi and is founder, chair and CEO of Citi’s Women & Co., an organization designed to address the unique financial needs of women. Previously, Caputo served as deputy assistant to the President of the United States, press secretary to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and chief spokesperson for the First Family. She is a regular TV commentator. Caputo was a member of Brown’s 1984 Ivy League champion field hockey team and received a graduate degree from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, graduating with a 4.0 grade-point average.

Teresa Edwards

School: Georgia

Gradation year: 1989

Major: Education Recreation and Leisure Studies

Sport: Basketball

Career highlights: Edwards is the only American basketball player to participate in five Olympics and the only female athlete to capture medals in five consecutive Games (gold in 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000; bronze in 1992). She holds the unique distinction of being both the youngest and oldest American women’s basketball player to win Olympic gold. Edwards was named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year a record four times (1987, 1990, 1996 and 2000) and has played professionally for the Atlanta Glory (ABL), Minnesota Lynx (WNBA), and internationally for Italy, Spain, France, Japan and Russia. She is currently an analyst for television broadcasts, including the Olympics, WNBA and Southeastern Conference women’s basketball games. Edwards led Georgia to the 1983 NCAA Women’s Final Four and a 1985 NCAA runner-up finish. She was a two-time All-American.

Joe Girardi

School: Northwestern

Graduation year: 1986

Major: Industrial Engineering

Sport: Baseball

Career highlights: Girardi led the 2009 New York Yankees to a World Series victory and has been manager of the club since 2008. He played 15 years in Major League Baseball, earning three World Series rings as a player. He was named an All-Star in 2000 while playing for the Chicago Cubs and was crowned the 2006 National League Manager of the Year while with the Florida Marlins. He was a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and holds a number of baseball records at Northwestern.

Tim Green

School: Syracuse

Graduation year: 1986

Major: English

Sport: Football

Career highlights: Green is currently an author, lawyer and coach, specializing in energy and utilities law. He played eight seasons in the National Football League with the Atlanta Falcons and has served as an NFL analyst for Fox Sports and a commentator for National Public Radio and Good Morning America. A New York Times best-selling author, Green has written 22 books. He coaches football at Skaneateles High School. While at Syracuse, he was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship and was a two-time All-American and National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete award winner.

Bo Jackson

School: Auburn

Graduation year: 1995

Major: Family and Childhood Development

Sport: Football, Baseball and outdoor track

Career highlights: Jackson was a two-sport professional athlete, playing Major League Baseball for eight seasons and professional football from 1987 to 1990. As Auburn’s all-time leading rusher, he was awarded the Heisman trophy and was a two-time All-American. Jackson was the 1989 Most Valuable Player of the MLB All-Star game, the 1993 American League Comeback Player of the Year and was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl in 1990. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998. He is currently part owner and CEO of Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports training facility and is a partner in the Burr Ridge Bank and Trust.

Scott Verplank

School: Oklahoma State

Graduation year: 1986

Major: Organizational Administration

Sport: Golf

Career highlights: As a 23-year PGA Tour member, Verplank has five victories, 91 top-10 finishes and has made the cut in 397 of 576 events. In 2002, he won the Ben Hogan Award given by the Golf Writers Association of America to an individual who has continued to be active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness (Verplank was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 9 and wears an insulin pump). Verplank was a member of the 2002 and 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup teams and was named the Captain’s Pick for the 2006 squad. In addition to the Ryder Cup, Verplank has participated on national teams for the President’s Cup in 2005 and 2007 and the Walker Cup in 1998 and 2004. He was a three-time first-team All-American and the 1986 NCAA medalist.