Previous Dick Enberg Award Recipients
2016 CoSIDA Convention Information
by Jim Seavey, Massachusetts Maritime Academy Director of Sports Information and Intercollegiate Scheduling Coordinator/CoSIDA Academic All-America® Committee
Roger Staubach, who captured the Heisman Trophy as a collegiate quarterback at the United States Naval Academy and redefined the position during a Hall of Fame playing career with the Dallas Cowboys, has been named the recipient of the 2016
Dick Enberg Award which is presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Staubach will receive the honor at the seventh annual CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame ceremony on Monday, June 13th at the Hyatt Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Tex. at the organization’s annual Convention. The CoSIDA convention is held in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Affiliates Convention for the fourth straight year.
The Dick Enberg Award, named for the world renowned and legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster, is presented annually to a person whose actions and commitment have furthered the meaning and reach of the Academic All-America® Teams program and/or the student-athlete while promoting the values of education and academics. The award was created in part to recognize Enberg's passion and support of the Academic All-America® program, and more importantly, his dedication to education for more than four decades.
"Roger Staubach personifies the Greek ideal of a "Sound Mind in a Sound Body,” Enberg said of this year’s
recipient. “His commitment to excellence on the gridiron as a Hall of Fame quarterback is matched by his tireless service and dedication in the service to our country as a Naval officer during the Vietnam War.”
“I remember him as a scrambling Navy quarterback, "Roger the Dodger," earning the Heisman Award in 1963,” Enberg continued. “Later, as a star with the Dallas Cowboys, he was known as 'Captain America.' That title appropriately fits his passion for athletics, academics and commitment to community and nation, all of which has inspired generations of young men and women. I am deeply honored and humbled that Roger Staubach will accept the 2016 Enberg Award."
As the 20th recipient of the Enberg Award, Staubach joins a select group that includes a United States President, the winningest Division I coaches ever in the sports of football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, several Olympic medalists and a member of the United States Cabinet.
“It’s a great honor for me to receive an award named for a gentleman who has played such an important role in sport and society,” Staubach said. “Dick has touched the lives of so many as one of the truly iconic figures in broadcasting, but his impact is far more reaching through his dedication to academic achievement and excellence in education.”
“Giving back to the community is not only something both he and I believe in strongly—it is a privilege to help provide support to those who are looking to reach their goals and follow their dreams,” Staubach continued. “I am very humbled to be this year’s Enberg Award recipient. Joining a group that includes a former President, Cabinet members and leaders in their respective fields is truly amazing.”
It was in the fall of 1962 when Staubach crashed the national stage by leading Navy to a 34-14 victory over rival Army, as he threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another in the Midshipmen’s triumph. But it was the following year in which “The Dodger” became a household name, as in addition to winning the Heisman Trophy, Roger also was honored with the Maxwell Award and Walter Campbell Memorial Trophy after leading Navy to a 9-1 overall record and a #2 final ranking in the nation. The Midshipmen fell to Texas in the 1964 Cotton Bowl that proved to be the national championship game, and included in those nine wins was a 35-14 road victory over Notre Dame, marking the last time that Navy would defeat the Irish for a 44-year stretch.
In just three seasons in Annapolis, Staubach amassed a school record 4,253 yards of total offense while throwing for 18 touchdowns, a staggering number despite the fact that he missed four games during his senior season due to injury. At his graduation ceremony in 1965, the Naval Academy retired Roger’s number 12 jersey, and in 1981 he was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame.
After graduation, Staubach could have elected to perform his naval service stateside, but he opted to serve his country with a tour of duty in Vietnam, where he served as a supply corps officer from 1965-67. At the Chu Lai base, Staubach commanded 41 enlisted men under his watch before returning to the United States to complete his naval service.
Selected in the 10th round of the 1964 National Football League draft by the Dallas Cowboys, Staubach began his storied career with the franchise following his military commitment in 1969. Named as the team’s starting quarterback by legendary Head Coach Tom Landry eight games into the 1971 season, Staubach led the Cowboys to 10 consecutive wins that included Dallas’s first Super Bowl victory, a 24-3 triumph over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI. As the game’s MVP, Roger threw for 119 yards and a pair of scores on the day, as he became the first Heisman Trophy winner to also earn Super Bowl MVP honors with his performance.
“Captain America” became “Captain Comeback” with his heroics in so many Cowboy victories during the 1970’s, including a memorable last minute touchdown pass in a 17-14 playoff victory over the Minnesota Vikings in 1975 that he himself gave birth to the term “Hail Mary”. Two years later, Staubach had Dallas back on top of the football world following a 27-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII in a game in which he threw for 183 yards and a touchdown.
In all, Roger quarterbacked the Cowboys to four Super Bowl appearances, where they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowls X and XIII by a combined eight points.
Following a 1979 season that saw him record career highs in completions, passing yards and touchdown passes, Staubach announced his retirement from the Cowboys in order to protect his long-term health. He finished his 11-year playing career with 22,700 passing yards, 153 touchdown passes and 21 rushing touchdowns, amassing nearly 25,000 yards of total offense over that time span. He was selected to the Pro Bowl on six occasions, including five straight from 1975-79.
To this day, Staubach remains the most beloved player in franchise history, a fact affirmed six years ago when he was named the No. 1 Dallas Cowboy of all time in a poll conducted by the
Dallas Morning News. His success has carried on off the field, as he started and grew his commercial real estate business (The Staubach Company) into a multimillion dollar company before selling it in 2008 to Jones Lang LaSalle, a firm in which he serves as executive chairman.
Staubach has been extremely devoted to community service and programs that support countless individuals. An highly visible member of the Dallas-Fort Worth community, Staubach founded Allies In Service, an organization that reaches out to veterans and the community by leveraging an all-encompassing network of support in the areas of employment, housing, education, and health care.
He also is active with the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, the Catholic Charities of Dallas and has devoted so much of his time to support organizations that benefit children and youth.
Upon receiving the 2010 Hope for Humanity Award from the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education in Tolerance, Staubach said "the education and spiritual development of children are priorities for (wife) Marianne and me," adding that "we are devoted to supporting causes that provide learning and character-building opportunities for young people."
Roger and Marianne Staubach will celebrate their 51st wedding anniversary this year, as the childhood sweethearts have five children, 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
(Additional materials for this release were provided by the United States Naval Academy, the Dallas Cowboys and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.)
Previous Dick Enberg Award Recipients
2015 Andre Agassi, International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee
2014 Ann Meyers Drysdale, Basketball Hall of Famer, UCLA/Vice President, Phoenix Mercury & Suns
2013 Mike Krzyzewski, Head Men's Basketball Coach, Duke University
2012 Joe Paterno, Head Football Coach Emeritus, Penn State University
2011 Jackie Joyner-Kersee, UCLA, United States Olympian
2010 Tom Hansen, Commissioner Emeritus, Pac-10 Conference
2009 Steve Smith, Former Basketball Standout, Michigan State & NBA
2008 Chuck Lee, CEO Emeritus, GTE Corporation
2007 Pat Summitt, Head Women's Basketball Coach Emeritus, University of Tennessee
2006 President Gerald R. Ford
2005 Father Theodore Hesburgh, President Emeritus, University of Notre Dame
2004 Dr. Ted Leland, Director of Athletics Emeritus, Stanford University
2003 Dr. Tom Osborne, Director of Athletics/Head Football Coach Emeritus, University of Nebraska
2002 Judge Alan Page, Associate Justice, Minnesota Supreme Court
2001 Dr. Donna Shalala, President, University of Miami/Former U.S. Secretary of Education
2000 Bill Russell, Basketball Hall of Famer, University of San Francisco/Boston Celtics
1999 Dean Smith, Head Men's Basketball Coach Emeritus, University of North Carolina
1998 John Humenik, former CoSIDA Executive Director, University of Florida/CoSIDA Board
1997 Dick Enberg, Hall of Fame Broadcaster/National Baseball Hall of Fame Ford C. Frick Award