Former President Gerald Ford Receives Enberg Award for Distinguished Service

Gerald Ford at the University of Michigan, with fellow football players Russell Fuog, Chuck Bernard, Herman Everhardus, and Stan Fay, 1934 Photo courtesy: The Ford Library

WASHINGTON D.C. - The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) last weekend named former U.S. President Gerald Ford as the 2006 recipient of its Dick Enberg Award.

The award, presented by the group since 1997 and named after the longtime television sportscaster, annually recognizes one individual committed to promoting the values of education and academics while furthering the meaning of the student-athlete.

As a football star at the University of Michigan in the 1930s, Ford earned three varsity letters from 1932-1934 and participated on back-to-back undefeated and Big Ten title teams in '32 and '33. In 1934, Ford was named team MVP as starting center, and played in both the East-West Shrine Game and an All-Star game against the NFL champions Chicago Bears following the season.

Ford also served as an assistant coach at Yale University before embarking on a three-decade stint in national politics, culminating with his term as President of the United States from 1974-1977.

Ford received the NCAA's Theodore Roosevelt Award in 1975 and the National Football Foundation's Gold Medal in 1972.

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