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Academic All-America® Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Hosted by ESPN's Rece Davis
Thursday, June 28 7:30 - 9PM Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, MD: Potomac A-B
Ceremony open to all CoSIDA and NACDA convention attendees, free of charge.
Academic All-America® Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Announced
by Barb Kowal, CoSIDA Director of Professional Development and External Affairs
Four distinguished professionals, all outstanding collegiate scholar-athletes, have been announced as the newest members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® Hall of Fame.
Created in 1988, the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame recognizes former Academic All-Americas who received a college degree at least 10 years ago, have achieved lifetime success in their professional careers, and are committed to philanthropic causes.
The 2018 inductees into the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame are:
• Harry Edwards, Ph.D., human and civil rights icon and distinguished American sociologist, who was a two-sport athlete in basketball and track and field for San José State University;
• Jason Hanson, a record-setting placekicker for Washington State who is a retired NFL placekicker who spent his entire 21-year career playing for the Detroit Lions;
• Mike Lowell, who parlayed his Florida International University (FIU) baseball achievements into a 13-year Major League Baseball career (Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox) with World Series appearances and MVP honors to his credit;
•
Peyton Manning, the NFL record-setting and Super Bowl champion quarterback who starred at the University of Tennessee prior to his brilliant NFL career.
Edwards is an honorary inductee, a designation awarded to a former scholar-athlete whose collegiate career pre-dated the Academic All-America® program in his/her particular sport.
These four inductees will join the prestigious 146-member Academic All-America® Hall of Fame this June. They will be inducted into the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame at CoSIDA's annual convention in National Harbor, Maryland on Thursday, June 28 during the organization's annual Hall of Fame Ceremony at the Gaylord Resort and Conference Center.
The CoSIDA convention is held in conjunction with the annual National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Affiliates Convention for a sixth straight year.
The June 28th Hall of Fame induction ceremony will feature ESPN's Rece Davis as emcee. The AAA Hall of Fame event, which will be held from 7:30-9 p.m., is free and open to all attendees of the CoSIDA and NACDA convention.
"On behalf of the CoSIDA Board of Directors and leadership, we are thrilled to welcome this distinguished quartet of student-athletes into our CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame,” noted Rob Carolla, Director of Communications for College Football 150th Anniversary. Dr. Harry Edwards, Jason Hanson, Mike Lowell and Peyton Manning are as outstanding an induction class as you will find anywhere. Each of them excelled in the classroom and in their sports during college and have gone on to be tremendous and accomplished leaders. We look forward to a special night of celebration at the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame induction ceremony as we honor and salute these individuals during the 2018 CoSIDA Convention in June."
The biographical information on this year's Academic All-America® Hall of Fame induction class is listed below.
Harry Edwards, Ph.D.
San José State University, Track & Field / Basketball
Edwards has dedicated his professional life to teaching, writing and activism in an attempt to raise the nation’s consciousness about racial injustice, barriers and inequities in our society through examples in sport.
Edwards' career has focused on the experiences of African-American athletes and he is a strong advocate of black participation in the management of professional sports. Now a retired college professor in sociology, his research interests were in the areas of sociology of sport, family, race and ethnic relations.
Edwards completed both his master’s (1966) and Ph.D degree (1971) at Cornell University. After earning his doctorate, Edwards began a distinguished, three-decade career as a professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley where he is now a Professor Emeritus. He is the co-founder of the Institute of Study of Sport, Society and Social Change at San José State. In addition, Edwards received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the 2016 San José Commencement where he served as its Commencement speaker.
During his undergraduate days at San José State, he participated in basketball and set records in the discus while a member of the track and field team. After graduating in 1964 with a degree in sociology, Edwards had three choices: professional football, professional basketball, or graduate school. He chose graduate school, and completed his master’s degree at Cornell University. He returned to San José State as a sociology instructor in 1966 – as the civil rights movement was gaining momentum.
As author of
The Revolt of the Black Athlete, Edwards was the architect of the Olympic Project for Human Rights during the civil rights movement. During the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, one of the most iconic moments in the history of sport took place as part of this human rights movement when two African-America athletes on the Olympic medal stand, Tommie Smith and John Carlos (both San José State athletes), bowed their heads and raised their fists in the Black Power Salute protest for equality.
Edwards has served as a staff consultant to the NFL’s San Francisco and NBA’s Golden State Warriors franchises, and has also been involved in recruiting black talent for front-office positions in Major League Baseball. He also served as a consultant to two luminaries who also graduated from San José State: former MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth (’59 Business), and the late San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh (’55 BA, ’58 MA Education).
A prolific writer and lecturer, he has authored four books: “The Struggle That Must Be,” “Sociology of Sports,” “Black Students,” and “The Revolt of the Black Athlete” and has been a frequent contributor to major news outlets and magazine, including
New York Times,
Sports Illustrated,
Psychology Today and
Atlantic Monthly.
.
Jason Hanson
Washington State University, Football
Hanson had a remarkable all-star NFL career, playing an impressive 21 years while spending all 21 seasons with one team – the Detroit Lions. He was drafted by the Lions in the second round (56th overall) of the 1992 NFL draft holds the NFL record for the most seasons played with one team, as well as multiple kicking and scoring records.
Hanson was a school, Pac-12 Conference and NCAA record-holder as a punter and field goal kicker as he starred at Washington State as an undergraduate. He took a perfect 4.0 grade point average out of high school (Mead High School in Spokane, Washington), and parlayed that into a scholar-athlete career for the Cougars. Hanson earned a bachelor of science degree from WSU in pre-med studies, carrying a 3.78 grade point average. He was a three-time, First Team Academic All-America® honorees as a sophomore, junior and senior.
On the gridiron, Hanson arrived on campus as a walkon – and was named to
The Sporting News Freshman All-America team. Hanson set or tied numerous NCAA records, and his percentage of 57.1 for field goals from 50 yards or greater remains a Pac-12 Conference record. He holds the record for most field goals from 50 yards or more (20), and 40 yards or more (39). Hanson's school records include most points scored (328), longest field goal (62 yards), most games with two or more field goals (20), field goals (63), and PAT’s (139). He was also the punter at WSU during his final two seasons.
The 56
th overall pick (second round) of the Detroit Lions in the 1992 NFL Draft, Hanson went on to a distinguished two-decade plus career as a kicker. He represented the NFC in the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 1999, and was an alternate in 1997 and 2008. He retired in 2013 after setting Lion records for scoring (2,100 points) and field goals (483).
The Detroit Lions inducted him into the Ring of Honor in fall 2013 at Ford Field for his success and dedication to Detroit Lions football.
Mike Lowell
Florida International University, Baseball
A scholar-athlete throughout his career, the Major League Baseball World Series standout Lowell graduated in 1992 from Coral Gables (Fla.) Senior High School in where he had a 4.0 GPA and was a standout baseball competitor. He went on to star locally for the FIU Panthers baseball team from 1993-96. During his professional baseball career, Lowell graduated from FIU in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in finance. Lowell earned Academic All-America® honors from CoSIDA in 1995.
Lowell was a three-time All-Conference player with the Panthers, and his uniform number 15 was retired. Lowell was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft (20
th round), and eventually made his MLB debut with New York during the 1998 season. Traded to the Florida Marlins in 1999, Lowell had successful years in Florida and established himself as one of the elite third baseman in the league and Golden Glove winner.
He was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 2005 and helped lead them to the 2007 World Series championship in a year in which he set career bests in hits, RBI, batting average, OPS, and played a key role in helping the Red Sox win their second World Series in four years. For his efforts, Lowell was named 2007 World Series MVP.
Lowell earned three World Series rings – one with the Yankees (1998), one with the Marlins (2003 when the Marlins defeated the Yankees for the title) and with the Red Sox (2007). Lowell along with fellow ex-Marlin Josh Beckett became the first duo to each get a World Series MVP by winning a World Series with one team in the American League and the other in the National League.
In addition to his World Series MVP and Golden Glove honors, Lowell was a four-time MLB All-Star (2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007). His last few years saw him beset with injuries, and he retired from baseball after the 2010 MLB season was complete.
Lowell's autobiography,
Deep Drive: A Long Journey to Finding the Champion Within, was published on May 6, 2008.
Peyton Manning
University of Tennessee, Football
Legendary quarterback Manning is the NFL’s only five-time Most Valuable Player and a 14-time Pro Bowl selection. He has earned his rightful place among the greatest quarterbacks in league history as a leader in nearly every statistical passing category. He also was the first starting quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different teams (Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos).
Prior to his standout NFL career, as the quarterback at the University of Tennessee, Manning epitomized the term “student-athlete.” In addition to setting 43 records at the school, conference and national levels, he graduating with Phi Beta Kappa honors. Manning was an Academic All-America® and Academic All-SEC selection in 1996 and 1997. By his junior year in 1996, he had earned enough credits to graduate, but bypassed the NFL draft that year to return to the Vol football team.
As a college senior, he was a First Team All-American, the Maxwell Award Winner, the Davey O’Brien Award Winner, the Johnny Unitas Award Winner, and the Best College Player Award Winner.
He led Tennessee to an SEC Championship as a senior in 1997 and earned consensus All-America honors. Following his senior season, Manning was honored with the Sullivan Award for the nation’s top amateur athlete based on character, leadership, athletic ability and the ideals of amateurism.
Manning was selected by the Colts as the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft and went on to help transform Indianapolis into consistent playoff contenders, leading them to eight division championships, two AFC championships, and one Super Bowl title. Manning then spent four seasons in Denver (2012-15), where he led the Broncos to two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl 50 victory. He also earned MVP honors following the 2013 season.
Peyton and Ashley Manning established the PeyBack Foundation in 1999 to promote the future success of disadvantaged youth by assisting programs that provide leadership and growth opportunities for children at risk. The Foundation has become a consistent and viable contributor in Colorado, Indiana, Tennessee, Louisiana and beyond providing more than $13 million in grants and programs since its inception.
Among his charitable and community service national recognitions, Manning was honored as the recipient of the Byron “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award and the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2005, the Bart Starr Award in 2015, and the Lincoln Medal in 2017. In February of 2018, Manning became the 10th recipient of the Lamar Hunt Award for Professional Football, which honors the legacy of Lamar Hunt, the Chiefs' founder. The award aims to recognize those who have helped to shape the NFL.