The NCAA has named Birch Bayh, former United States senator from Indiana who was integral in the passage of Title IX, and John Wooden, the legendary University of California, Los Angeles, men's basketball coach who won 10 national championships, as co-recipients of the NCAA President's Gerald R. Ford Award.

NCAA President Myles Brand will present the award to Bayh and Wooden, both Indiana natives, at the opening business session of the 2006 NCAA Convention January 7 in Indianapolis. In honor of Bayh and Wooden, the NCAA will donate an honorarium to the institutions of their choice for the benefit of student-athletes.

The 2006 Convention marks the beginning of the NCAA Centennial, during which the Association will celebrate 100 years of the student-athlete.

"As we begin the celebration of the NCAA Centennial in Indiana, it is only fitting to have two native Hoosiers who have made significant contributions to intercollegiate athletics and the goal toward equality for all people," Brand said. "Both Senator Bayh's creation of Title IX and coach Wooden's unprecedented accomplishments based on sound principles of scholarship and citizenship have had a positive impact on college sports."

Bayh, often called "the father of Title IX," sponsored and co-authored the landmark 1972 legislation that provides equal opportunity for men and women in all federally funded education programs and activities, including sports.

Bayh graduated from Purdue University in 1951 and the Indiana University School of Law in 1960. He received an honorary degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1995. He served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1954 to 1962, rising to the position of Speaker, and in 1961 was admitted to the Indiana bar.

Bayh served in the U.S. Senate from 1962 to 1980. He is the only lawmaker since the Founding Fathers to author two amendments to the U.S. Constitution -- the 25th Amendment on presidential and vice presidential succession and the 26th Amendment that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

He also co-authored the Bayh-Dole Act, which revitalized the nation's patent system, and was chief architect of the Juvenile Justice Act, mandating the separation of juvenile offenders from adult prisoners. Bayh also has served as a member of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Among other leadership roles within the Senate, Bayh chaired the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from 1977 to 1980 and the National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence from 1984 to 1994. He continues to practice law with the Washington, D.C., firm Venable LLP, and often is invited to speak about his landmark work with Title IX.

Wooden is most known for building a basketball dynasty that spanned the 1960s and early 1970s. But his coaching philosophy, "The Pyramid of Success," based on the idea that faith and patience lead to success, have helped shape the lives of those who played for the legendary coach.

Wooden played basketball at Purdue University and as team captain in 1931-32 led the Boilermakers to two Big Ten Conference championships and the 1932 national title. Wooden was a three-time all-American and received the Big Ten medal for excellence in scholarship. Wooden is one of only two men enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.

After college, Wooden was a high school athletics director before spending four years in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After that he returned to Indiana, teaching and coaching at Indiana State University.

Wooden's 1946 team was invited to play in the NAIA tournament, but Wooden refused because Blacks were not allowed to participate. A year later, the NAIA changed its policy, and one of Wooden's student-athletes became the first Black to play in the tournament.

At UCLA, Wooden won 10 NCAA titles -- seven of which came in consecutive years from 1967 through 1973 and four of which were undefeated seasons (1964, 1967, 1972 and 1973). Wooden's UCLA teams holds several NCAA records, including consecutive Final Four appearances (nine) and Final Four victories (21). During the 1971, 1972 and 1973 seasons, Wooden's teams compiled 88 consecutive victories. Between 1964 and 1974, UCLA posted 38 straight victories in NCAA tournament play.

In March 1975, Wooden retired from UCLA as one of the most decorated basketball coaches in history. In 1999, ESPN named him "Coach of the 20th Century," and in 2003, President George W. Bush awarded Wooden the President Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded.

The John R. Wooden Award, presented annually to the collegiate men's basketball player of the year, was founded in 1976; the women's award is in its second year. The award is based on teamwork, academic achievements and outstanding contributions as a citizen.

Wooden, who recently celebrated his 95th birthday, continues to spread his Pyramid of Success philosophy through basketball clinics, personal appearances, interviews and several books, including a new book for children.

The Ford Award

The NCAA President's Gerald R. Ford Award, named in recognition of former President Gerald Ford, honors individuals who have provided significant leadership as an advocate for intercollegiate athletics on a continuous basis over the course of his or her career. This is the third year the NCAA has presented the award. University of Notre Dame President Emeritus Theodore Hesburgh received the inaugural award in 2004 and former Knight Commission chair William Friday was the 2005 recipient.

Ford was the 38th president of the United States. He was vice president when he took the oath of office in 1974 after President Richard Nixon resigned. Ford was president until 1977.

Ford's political career began in 1948 when he was elected to Congress from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He became House Minority Leader in 1965, a position he held until Nixon appointed him vice-president in 1973.

Ford played football at the University of Michigan where he participated on national-championship teams in 1932 and 1933. He started every game at center his senior year and was voted most valuable player by his teammates. Ford received contract offers from the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions, which he turned down in favor of studying law at Yale University. Before beginning his law classes, Ford coached freshman football and boxing.

NCAA President Myles Brand said of Ford: "Both as a public servant and as an athlete, President Ford embodies the qualities of integrity, achievement and dedication that we aspire to in intercollegiate athletics."