ATHLETICS
The BYU Student Athlete Center recently received the prestigious Division I-A CHAMPSProgram of Excellence Award from the Division I-A Athletic Directors’ Association at its annual meetings in Dallas.
The Program of Excellence Award, which began in 1997, recognizes Division I-A athletic programs that have established student-athlete welfare as the cornerstone of their operating principles.
WEB: newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/40056
The BYU Athletic Department has partnered with BYU Broadcast Services to broadcast more than 120 athletic events during the 200203 season on newly-created BYU Radio.
BYU Radio is currently available 24 hours a day on Dish Network, channel 980 (extended package), and is also available on the Internet at byuradio.org/streaming.
FOOTBALL
Former BYU head coach R. LaVell Edwards, ’78, has been selected as the 2003 recipient of the American Football Coaches Association’s Amos Alonzo Stagg Award. The award honors those “whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football.”BYU backup quarterback Benjamin J. Olson, ’09, rated as the nation’s top high school quarterback in 2001, has announced he will serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ.
Ben Olsen
Former BYU quarterback and current sportscaster S. Gifford Nielsen, ’77, was honored as a 2003 recipient of the Silver Anniversary Award at the NCAA Convention in January. The award honors former student-athletes who completed prominent collegiate athletic careers 25 years ago, and who have gone on to distinguish themselves in their professional careers.
TRACK AND FIELD
Former coach Clarence F. Robison, ’49, was inducted into the United States Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame Dec. 7, 2002. Robison was the men’s head coach at BYU for 40 years, from 1949 through 1988. As an athlete, he was a member of the 1948 Olympic team and held school records at BYU in the mile and two mile. His BYU teams won 18 conference championships and tied for the NCAA national championships in 1970.
TENNIS
Ann Valentine, ’67, former women’s tennis coach and current women’s associate athletics director, has been selected as one of six to be inducted into the ITA Women’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame this year. The induction ceremony was held Nov. 9 in Williamsburg, Va.
Ann Valentine
Valentine was a highly successful coach for BYU from 1972 to 1995. As coach for BYU, she compiled a 427-175 (.709) record. Playing an increasingly challenging schedule, her teams won 15 conference championships, earned 12 top-10 national rankings, and captured 31 individual All-America citations.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
After a 13-game winning streak and a Mountain West Conference championship, the women’s soccer team finished the season with 16 wins, six losses, and an invitation to host the first and second rounds of the 2002 NCAA Women’s College Cup.
he 2002 women’s soccer team continued its Mountain West Conference domination by winning the MWC tournament and the MWC regular-season lie, both for the fourth straight year.
While the Cougars suffered a disappointing overtime loss to Utah in the first round, their successful season was rewarded with recognition in the final national polls. They were ranked No. 15 by Soccer Buzz, No. 16 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, No. 16 by SoccerTimes.com, and No. 17 by Soccer America.
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