| Rosey Grier was a standout on the Nittany Lions?? football and men??s track and field squads in the 1950??s before embarking on a career that has included professional football, entertainment and humanitarian causes. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., March 22, 2006 ?C Two individuals that have had a profound impact on The Pennsylvania State University, their communities and society have been selected to the NCAA??s elite list of its ??100 Most Influential Student-Athletes.??
Legendary football coach Joe Paterno and entertainer and humanitarian Roosevelt ??Rosey?? Grier were selected to the prestigious list. Paterno has been the head coach at Penn State since 1966 and a member of the coaching staff since 1950. He played football and basketball at Brown University. Grier was a standout on the Nittany Lions?? football and men??s track and field squads in the 1950??s before embarking on a career that has included professional football, entertainment and humanitarian causes.
The ??100 Most Influential Student-Athletes?? were chosen by a special panel that included college presidents, athletics directors, faculty representatives, student-athletes and conference representatives. The NCAA defines the 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes as those who have made a significant impact or major contributions to society.
The NCAA is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2006. The NCAA Centennial began in January at the NCAA Convention in Indianapolis.
Paterno and Grier join a prestigious list of former NCAA student-athletes from a myriad of professions, including: Madeline Albright, Kofi Annan, Arthur Ashe, Bill Cosby, Althea Gibson, Mia Hamm, Michael Jordan, Jackie Joyner-Kersey, Billie Jean King, Phil Knight, Vince Lombardi, Jack Nicklaus, Jesse Owens, Arnold Palmer, Sally Ride, Jackie Robinson, Wilma Rudolph, Norman Schwarzkopf, Tiger Woods, and former U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
Paterno is among a handful of college head coaches that made the list, which includes: Mike Krzyzewski, Eddie Robinson, Knute Rockne, Dean Smith, Dawn Staley, Pat Summitt and John Wooden.
Grier was a four-year starter on the 1951-54 Penn State football teams that were coached by Rip Engle, with Paterno in the early stages of his career as an assistant coach. He was an All-American in the shot put in 1954 and ??55, earning his degree in 1956. Grier was selected an All-Pro defensive lineman four times with the NFL??s New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams, and was a member of the Rams?? ??Fearsome Foursome,?? regarded by many pro football historians as the best defensive line in the annals of the NFL.
Following his retirement from football in 1966, Grier began an acting and singing career, making more than 80 television and motion picture appearances, and became a social activist, serving as an advisor and bodyguard for Senator Robert Kennedy. Grier also has been an ordained minister for more than 20 years, the founder of a several organizations and programs that serve the needs of underprivileged inner city residents, an author and inspirational speaker.
Grier has been honored by Penn State as a Distinguished Alumni Award recipient (1974) and the Alumni Fellow Award (1991). He resides in Los Angeles.
Recipient of the AFCA??s National Coach of the Year an unprecedented five times, Paterno is second in all-time victories among major college coaches and fourth in wins across all four NCAA divisions. A member of the Penn State coaching staff for 56 years, he owns a 354-117-3 (75.0) career record in 40 years as head coach. Paterno has led Penn State to national championships in 1982 and '86, five unbeaten and untied seasons (1968, '69, '73, '86, '94) and is the all-time leader in bowl appearances (32) and victories (21-10-1 record).
A 1950 graduate of Brown University, Paterno also has produced more than 300 NFL players, 71 first team All-Americans, 32 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans (24 first team), 14 National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Scholar Athletes and 18 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winners during his legendary career. During the 2005 season, senior defensive end Tamba Hali was a consensus All-American and junior linebacker Paul Posluszny was a consensus All-American and a first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American, helping lead the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten and FedEx Orange Bowl titles.
Paterno and his wife, Sue, have contributed more than $4 million to Penn State for several academic and athletic building projects and to endow scholarships and faculty positions.
Paterno is being honored tonight in Washington. D.C. as one of two of the Freedom Forum??s 2005 Free Spirit honorees. The event is taking place at the National Press Club. As part of the NCAA Centennial celebration, ESPNU will air two one-hour programs highlighting the 100 Most Influential NCAA Student-Athletes. The first show will air tonight at 11 p.m., counting down student-athletes from 100 to 51 and 50-1 will be counted down at 6 a.m. on Friday, March 24. The programs will re-air on ESPNU on April 20 (12-2 a.m.) and May 6 (8:30-10:30 a.m.)
The ??100 Most Influential Student-Athletes?? in alphabetical order are:
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem -- University of California, Los Angeles, Basketball Ackerman, Val, University of Virginia, Basketball Albright, Madeline, Wellesley College, Swimming & Diving Alexander, A. Lamar, Jr., Vanderbilt University, Track Alexander, Alpha A., College of Wooster, Basketball / Volleyball / Tennis / Lacrosse Annan, Kofi, Macalester College, Track & Field/Soccer Armacost, Michael H., Carleton College, Football / Basketball / Baseball Ashe, Arthur, University of California, Los Angeles, Tennis Auerbach, Arnold "Red", George Washington University, Basketball, Baseball Berg, Patricia "Patty", University of Minnesota, Golf Bird, Larry, Indiana State University, Basketball Bradley, Bill, Princeton University, Basketball Bradley, General Omar N., U.S. Military Academy, Football / Baseball Brown, James, Harvard University, Basketball Bush, George H. W., Yale University, Baseball Campbell, William "Bill" V., Columbia University, Football Chandler, Otis, Stanford University, Track and Field Cooley M. D., Denton A., University of Texas, Basketball Cosby Jr., William "Bill" H., Temple University, Track and Field / Football de Varona, Donna, University of California, Los Angeles, Swimming and Diving DeFrantz, Anita, Connecticut College, Rowing Dempsey, Dr. Cedric W., Albion College, Football, Basketball and Baseball Dole, Robert J., Washburn University, Football / Basketball/ Track Edwards, Theresa, University of Georgia, Basketball Eisenhower, Dwight D., U.S. Military Academy, Football Ford, Gerald R., University of Michigan, Football Foudy, Julie, Stanford University, Soccer Frazier, Herman R., Arizona State University, Track and Field Gibson, Althea, Florida A&M University, Tennis, Basketball, Golf Grange, Harold "Red", University of Illinois, Football, Track & Field and Baseball Grier, Roosevelt "Rosey", Pennsylvania State University, Football and Men's Track & Field Griffin, Archie, Ohio State University, Football Hamilton, Thomas J., U.S. Naval Academy, Football / Basketball / Baseball Hamm, Mia, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Soccer Hastert, Dennis, Wheaton College, Wrestling Hill, Calvin, Yale University, Football Holland, Jerome "Brud", Cornell University, Football Jackson, Rev. Jesse L. Sr., North Carolina A&T State University, Football James Frank, Lincoln University, Basketball Johnson, Ervin "Magic", Michigan State University, Basketball Johnson, Rafer, University of California, Los Angeles, Basketball and Track & Field Jordan, Michael, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Basketball Kemp, Jack F., Occidental College, Football Kennedy Shriver, Eunice, Stanford University, Swimming, Track Kersee, Jackie Joyner, University of California Los Angeles, Track and Field, Basketball King, Betsy, Furman University, Golf / Basketball / Field Hockey King, Billie Jean, Cal State, Los Angeles, Tennis Knight, Phil, University of Oregon, Track & Field Kraft, Robert, Columbia University, Football Krzyzewski, Mike, West Point University, Basketball Lawrence, William P., U.S. Naval Academy, Football Lombardi, Vince, Fordham University, Football Lopiano, Donna A., Southern Connecticut State University, Softball, Basketball, Volleyball, Field Hockey Mathias, Robert B., Stanford University, Football / Track and Field Meyers-Drysdale, Ann, University of California, Los Angeles, Basketball, Track & Field and Volleyball Miller, Cheryl, University of Southern California, Basketball Moses, Edwin, Morehouse College, Track and Field Nicklaus, Jack W., Ohio State University, Golf Nixon, Richard, Whittier College, Football Ohene-Frempong, Kwaku, Yale University, Soccer / Track / Field Owens, Jesse, Ohio State University, Track and Field Page, Alan, University of Notre Dame, Football Palmer, Arnold, Wake Forest University, Golf Paterno, Joseph V., Brown University, Football and Men's Basketball Payton, Walter Jerry, Jackson State University, Football Reagan, Ronald, Eureka College, Swimming / Football / Track Rice, Jerry, Mississippi Valley State University, Football Richardson, Bill, Tufts University, Baseball Richardson, Dot, University of California Los Angeles, Softball Ride, Sally, Stanford University, Tennis Roberts, Robin, Southeastern Louisiana University, Basketball Robertson, Oscar P., University of Cincinnati, Basketball Robeson, Paul, Rutgers University, Football, Basketball, Track Robinson, Edward G., Grambling State University, College Football's Winningest Coach Robinson, Jackie, University of California Los Angeles, Basketball, Baseball, Football, Track Rockne, Knute, Notre Dame, Football, Track Rudolph, Wilma, Tennessee State University, Track Russell, Bill, University of San Francisco, Basketball Samuelson, Joan Benoit, Bowdoin College, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field and Field Hockey Schultz, George P., Princeton University, Basketball Schwarzkopf, Norman, West Point University, Football/Wrestling Shepard, Captain Alan B., Jr., U.S. Naval Academy, Crew Smith, Dean, University of Kansas, Basketball Smith, Howard K., Tulane University, Track and Field Sorenstam, Annika, University of Arizona, Golf Spock, Benjamin, Yale University, Crew Staley, Dawn, University of Virginia, Women's Basketball Staubach, Roger T., U.S. Naval Academy, Football / Basketball / Baseball Summitt, Pat, University of Tennessee-Martin, Basketball Sweet, Judith, University of Wisconsin, Badminton Temple, Edward, Tennessee State University, Track and Field Thorpe, Jim, Carlisle Indian School, Football Tyus, Wyomia, Tennessee State University, Track and Field Ueberroth, Peter, San Jose State University, Swimming / Water Polo Walker, Leroy T., Benedict College, Football, Basketball, Track and Field West, Jerry, West Virginia University, Basketball White, Byron R., University of Colorado, Boulder, Football Whitman, Meg, Princeton University, Lacrosse/Squash Wooden, John R., Purdue University, Basketball Woods, Tiger, Stanford University, Golf