The NCAA Gerald R. Ford Award was named in recognition of Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...

, 38th President of the United States. Presented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

, the award honors an individual who has provided significant leadership in the role of advocate for intercollegiate athletics and has done so a continuous basis over the course of their career. Ford played the position of center in football at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

, participating on national championship teams in 1932 and 1933. He turned down offers from Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 and Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 to study law at Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

.

The Gerald Ford Award was first awarded in 2004. The recipients of the award are:

• 2004 – Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh
  Theodore Hesburgh
  The Rev. Theodore Martin Hesburgh, CSC, STD , a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame. He is the namesake for TIAA-CREF's Hesburgh Award....
  
  
• 2005 – William Friday
• 2006 – Birch Bayh
  Birch Bayh
  Birch Evans Bayh II is a former United States Senator from Indiana, having served from 1963 to 1981. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in the 1976 election, but lost to Jimmy Carter. He is the father of former Indiana Governor and former U.S. Senator Evan Bayh.-Life...
  
   and John Wooden
  John Wooden
  John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
  
  
• 2007 – Christine Grant
  Christine Grant
  Christine Grant is a former athlete and athletic director at the University of Iowa. She was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.-Early life and education:...
  
  
• 2008 – James Frank
• 2009 – Billie Jean King
  Billie Jean King
  Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
  
  
• 2010 – Myles Brand
  Myles Brand
  Myles Neil Brand, Ph. D. was the 14th president of the University of Oregon, president of the United States' National Collegiate Athletic Association , and 16th president of Indiana University.-Personal life:...
  
  
• 2011 – Joe Paterno
  Joe Paterno
  Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...
  
  

See also

• NCAA Award of Valor
  NCAA Award of Valor
  The NCAA Award of Valor is presented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to recognize "courageous action or noteworthy bravery" by persons involved with intercollegiate athletics....
  
  
• NCAA Inspiration Award
  NCAA Inspiration Award
  The NCAA Inspiration Award is awarded to one of the following who is associated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association: a current or former varsity letter-winner, a coach, or an administrator...
  
  
• NCAA Sportsmanship Award
  NCAA Sportsmanship Award
  The NCAA Sportsmanship Award is given each year to one man and one woman in National Collegiate Athletics Association sports who have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect and responsibility...
  
  
• NCAA Woman of the Year Award
  NCAA Woman of the Year Award
  The NCAA Woman of the Year Award was created to honor a senior female student-athlete who has distinguished herself throughout her collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. Each year, ten finalists are selected from a larger pool of...
  
  
• Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA)
  Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA)
  The Silver Anniversary Awards are given each year by the American National Collegiate Athletic Association to recognize six distinguished former student-athletes on their 25th anniversary as college graduates. The Silver Anniversary Awards were first given in 1973, when five distinguished former...
  
  

Source

• NCAA Gerald R. Ford Award