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CoSIDA honors Joyner-Kersee

U.S. Track and Field legend and three-time Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee has been selected to receive the 2011 Dick Enberg Award, presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

The Dick Enberg Award is presented annually to a person whose actions and commitment have furthered the meaning and reach of the Capital One Academic All-America Teams Program and the student-athlete while promoting the values of education and academics.

Joyner-Kersee, who starred at UCLA, will receive the award at the Capital One Hall of Fame gala on June 28 in Marco Island, Fla., as part of the annual CoSIDA convention and workshop. She will be the 14th individual to be honored with the Enberg Award since the award’s inception in 1997.

Joyner-Kersee, an NCAA Silver Anniversary Award winner in 2010, won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals spanning four Olympic Games during her career. At the 1988 Games in Seoul, Korea, Joyner-Kersee struck gold in both her signature events – the heptathlon (world record) and long jump. At the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain, she won gold in the heptathlon and bronze in the long jump. In her final Olympic appearance at the 1996 Atlanta Games, she won the bronze medal in the long jump.

Joyner-Kersee competed in both track and field and basketball at UCLA from 1980 to 1985. A four-year starter on the Bruins’ basketball team, she is still listed among the school’s career leader in scoring average, rebounding and assists.

The inaugural recipient of the Humanitarian Athlete of the Year, Joyner-Kersee is known worldwide for her interest in aiding others. She has helped to build the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation in her hometown of East St. Louis, Ill., that has raised more than $12 million.