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This year’s Silver Anniversary Award winners take time to reflect

By Marta Lawrence
NCAA.org

Bo knows wrestling?

According to the superstar Bo Jackson, wrestling is the sport that he would have enjoyed had he not been occupied with football, baseball and track.

Northwestern baseball standout and current New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi loved math and the Rolling Stones. Who knew?

Twenty-five years ago Jackson, Girardi, Lisa Caputo, Teresa Edwards, Tim Green and Scott Verplank were student-athletes completing their last year of eligibility. Time may have changed their preference in music and their perspectives on life, but the lessons they’ve learned through athletics have stuck with them.

On Friday, all six will be honored as the 2011 recipients of the NCAA Silver Anniversary Awards, presented each year to top former student-athletes who have excelled in life 25 years after completion of their eligibility.

We asked this year’s Silver Anniversary Award winners to reflect on their lives in college – and what they learned from athletics.

Lisa Caputo

Brown field hockey and lacrosse; political science and French major

Q: What sport (other than yours) would you like to have played in college?

A: At Brown, I played varsity field hockey and was a walk-on to the varsity lacrosse team, having never played lacrosse until I got to college. I loved both sports and still do to this day.  I've always been an avid tennis player and would loved to have played on the tennis team at Brown. However, the tennis season conflicted with the field hockey and lacrosse seasons. I developed a love of golf too, and it would have been a ton of fun to play on the golf team.

Q: What was your favorite song or music group when you were a student-athlete?

A: Wow, this is a blast from the past. Harkening back to the ’80s, there were a million great songs. But I have to say any song by the Grateful Dead or the Rolling Stones pretty much ruled the day and still does.

Q: What was your favorite book when you were in college?

A: There wasn’t one single book that stood out in my mind in college. I took a comparative literature course during my sophomore year, and we read some of the greatest books of all time. I loved that class and the thoughtful, analytical conversations we had around each novel we read.

Q: When you were a student-athlete, what person (or people) inspired you most?

A: Both of my parents were student-athletes and they were (and remain) inspirations to me. My mother was a field hockey standout, and my father was a track and football star. My father became a respected U.S. federal judge, and my mother went on to be a successful teacher. Both of them have been truly exceptional parents to three student-athletes. They instilled in each of us good values, a strong work ethic, to always strive to do our best, to never give up, the discipline of gratitude and the importance of family first. They also ensured that athletics were a core part of my childhood and my educational experience because they believed that education took place both in the classroom and on the athletic fields. I’ve tried to follow their wonderful example and take the lessons they taught me and pass them now on to my own children.

Q: Did you have a pregame ritual? What was it?

A: Before a game, we always had a pretty robust meal. For me, I had a ritual that the meal always had to include a pita pocket with melted cheese. I have no idea why! Then we’d get a pep talk from the coach on the field during warm-up. There was such camaraderie among my teammates that we would psyche each other up as we ran through the pregame drills. It was the best feeling because it got your adrenalin going, and you got on a high before the starting whistle. That routine, particularly the high-fiving and the shouting words of encouragement during the pregame warm up, is a memory I still treasure to this day.

Q: What was your favorite class?

A: I had such a fantastic educational experience at Brown that it’s hard to narrow it down to one class. The professors were incredible, and the dialogue in the classroom was always thought-provoking, dynamic and incredibly stimulating. Dean Barrett Hazeltine, one of the most beloved professors and an institution at Brown, taught a fantastic course that was an introduction to business management and managerial decision-making. Little did I know how well the lessons I learned in that class would serve me later in my life.

Q: What lesson(s) has athletics taught you?

A: There is nothing like the thrill of victory in a game (or the agony of defeat). Athletics has taught me so much − teamwork, focus, discipline, sportsmanship, how to excel − these are all lessons that I have carried with me and have served me so well in the business world.

Q: What is your favorite memory from your collegiate career?

A: Winning the Ivy title is right up there in terms of my collegiate athletic experience. But more importantly, my best friends to this day are my former teammates. They are like a second family to me. They have been there for me through thick and thin and always will be throughout life’s twists and turns. Fostering those friendships not just on the field, but more importantly off the field, and all of the laughs, tears and experiences we shared growing up as young adults in college molded me as a person. They made me a better and more complete person.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to current student athletes, what would it be?

A: Be disciplined and balance your athletics and your academics. Don’t let one overcome the other as they are equally important. Be true to yourself, always strive to do the best you can and never ever give up.

Teresa Edwards

Georgia basketball; education recreation and leisure studies major

Q: What sport (other than yours) would you like to have played in college?

A: I would have loved to play tennis in college, not because I’m good at the sport but because I’m self-motivated, admire the work ethics and marvel at the greatness displayed at the highest level.  

Q: What was your favorite song or music group when you were a student-athlete?

 A: My college teammates teased me, and my friends today would be shocked to know, that I was the biggest fan of John Cougar before he went back to just “Mellencamp.” Love that guy to this day!!!!  Next to Gospel queen Shirley Caesar, there was my man John Cougar getting me through college.

Q: What was your favorite book when you were in college?

A: “Othello” and my Bible. Great stories!

Q: When you were a student-athlete, what person (or people) inspired you most? 

A: Our chair of recreation, Ms. Edie Klein, God rest her soul. She imparted wisdom and truthful, worldly advice through examples and encouraged academic excellence through personal experiences.

Q: Did you have a pregame ritual? What was it? 

A: No ritual, but I’ve never wanted to wear anything more than my uniform. (No head bands, wrist band, heavy socks, or baggy shorts.)

Q: What was your favorite class? 

A: I enjoyed every class associated with my recreation major, mostly my administrative classes.

Q: What lesson(s) has athletics taught you? 

A: Athletics are character-defining for life obstacles. I’ve learned that I can do or be whatever I set out to become and I can do it more than once!

Q: What is your favorite memory from your collegiate career? 

A: My fondest memories of my collegiate career stem back to my teammates and the family bond that developed champions through championships “together.” Great sporting peers, student body support and crazy football weekends!  Go Dawgs!!!!!

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to current student athletes, what would it be? 

A: Live the experience one day at a time to the fullest as you prepare for the beginning of the rest of your life. A greater you awaits! Don't re-live your parents’ experience; make a world for you.  We live in a time where we all need to accept change as a positive inevitable that leads to a greater awareness for a new generation to come.

Joe Girardi

Northwestern baseball; industrial engineering major

Q: What sport (other than yours) would you like to have played in college?

A: Football, my first love.

Q: What was your favorite song or music group when you were a student-athlete?

A: The Rolling Stones.

Q: What was your favorite book when you were in college?

A: Any math book.

Q: When you were a student-athlete, what person (or people) inspired you most?

A: My parents and my brother John. John because he taught me how to train and took me everywhere he went. And my parents, I saw a real desire to be like them. They had an unbelievable work ethic and wanted what was best for us, and my mother did it while battling cancer.

Q: Did you have a pregame ritual? What was it?

A: No, I didn’t have a ritual. I was disciplined and had routine but not a ritual.

Q: What was your favorite class?

A: Calculus.

Q: What is your favorite memory from your collegiate career?

A: My senior year trip to South Carolina with Ron Welman (the head coach) and Grady Hall. We took a van from the school and it was unbelievable.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to current student athletes, what would it be?

A: Cherish and work at the relationships that you are forming in college because the one thing that I’ve found is that my college teammates have always been there for me no matter the circumstances.

Tim Green

Syracuse football; English major

Q: What sport (other than yours) would you like to have played in college? 

A: Wrestling.

Q: What was your favorite song or music group when you were a student-athlete?

A: The Eagles.

Q: What was your favorite book when you were in college?

A: “Tom Jones” by Henry Fielding

Q: When you were a student-athlete, what person (or people) inspired you most?

A: George O’Leary, my defensive line coach; Judy Weissman, my academic advisor; Dick MacPherson, my head coach; and Ron Cavanaugh, dean of arts and sciences.

Q: Did you have a pregame ritual? What was it?

A: Reading books.

Q: What was your favorite class?

A: Victorian poetry and prose.

Q: What lesson(s) has athletics taught you?

A: Perseverance.

Q: What is your favorite memory from your collegiate career?

A: Beating No. 1 Nebraska when we were 48-point underdogs.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to current student athletes, what would it be?

A: Get your degree, then get another one.

Scott Verplank

Oklahoma State golf; organizational administration major

Q: What sport (other than yours) would you like to have played in college? 

A:  Football.

Q: What was your favorite song or music group when you were a student-athlete?

A: The Cars.

Q: What was your favorite book when you were in college?

A:  “Atlas Shrugged.”

Q: When you were a student-athlete, what person (or people) inspired you most?

A: Jack Nicklaus.

Q: Did you have a pregame ritual? What was it?

A: Not really. Golf doesn’t really have pregame stuff.

Q: What was your favorite class?

A: Advertising.

Q: What lesson(s) has athletics taught you?

A: Teamwork, respect for the competition and never give up.

Q: What is your favorite memory from your collegiate career?

A: Winning the NCAA team championship in my freshman year.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to current student athletes, what would it be?

A: Stay in school and enjoy your college experience.

Bo Jackson

Auburn football, baseball and track; family and childhood development major

Q: What sport (other than yours) would you like to have played in college?

A: Wrestling.

Q: What was your favorite song or music group when you were a student-athlete?

A: Muddy Waters and John Coltrane. I have always been a blues and jazz fan.

Q: What was your favorite book when you were in college?

A: “The Old Man and the Sea.”

Q: When you were a student-athlete, what person (or people) inspired you most? 

A: My mother.

Q: Did you have a pregame ritual? What was it?

A: I used to go to sleep between warmups and game time. I would take my shoulder pads off and lay my head in them. Coach (Pat) Dye would not let anyone bother me until game time.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to current student athletes, what would it be?

A: Try to stay as grounded as you can and do not believe the hype.