UK Football's Kovach is an Academic Hall of Famer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 28, 2010) — A former University of Kentucky athlete has been honored for his outstanding college academic career as well as his successful professional career after college.

A pair of former Academic All-America® football selections, Dr. James Kovach, '78 of the University of Kentucky and Dewey Selmon, '76 of the University of Oklahoma, join former Academic All-America® basketball standout Adonal Foyle, '99 of Colgate University and Connecticut College rowing star Anita DeFrantz, '74 as this year's inductees into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame®. 
 

The four honorees will join 108 previous inductees as members of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame®, which was created in 1988. They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at CoSIDA’s annual workshop in San Francisco, California on July 6.

"The CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame® represents everything we all believe college athletics can be and the Class of 2010 certainly lives up to that standard," said Justin Doherty of the University of Wisconsin, the 2009-10 CoSIDA President. "These four individuals were high achievers as student-athletes and continue to make a positive impact on society to this day. They each add something special to the Academic All-America Hall of Fame® and CoSIDA is very proud to recognize their extraordinary contributions."

James Kovach, Kentucky, '79, an Academic All-America® selection in 1978, was the first player in modern NCAA history to attend medical school while playing major college football. A three-time All-Southeastern Conference linebacker at Kentucky, he set a school record with 521 career tackles that still stands.  A first team All-SEC honoree in 1978, Kovach helped the Wildcats win the 1976 SEC championship.  Selected to play in the Hula Bowl following his senior season, Kovach earned an NCAA Top Five Award, an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship in 1979.

After being drafted by the New Orleans Saints, he played seven seasons in the National Football League as a linebacker for the Saints and the San Francisco 49ers. He was the Saints' leading tackler from 1981 to 1984 and was named as the Saints' Most Valuable Player in 1983, He continued to play in the NFL while attending medical school during the off-season.
 

Kovach earned his medical degree from Kentucky in 1984, and he earned a law degree from Stanford University in 1990. He is currently the president and chief operating officer for the Buck Institute for Age Research, the only independent research institute dedicated to research on aging and age-associated disease.

Kovach has been active in both local and regional community services throughout his business career, with a focus in the area of education, health and aging. He has been active with the Marin County School-to-Career Partners, the NFL Retired Players Association, the Consortium for Translational Research in Advancing Imaging and Nanomedicine while serving as an adjunct professor at Dominican University of California. Kovach also serves on the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Aging Research and the North Bay Leadership Council.

CoSIDA established the Academic All-America Hall of Fame® in 1988 with the purpose to honor former college student-athletes who have excelled in their professions and made substantial contributions to their community. To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a candidate must have been an Academic All-America® team member who graduated at least ten years prior to nomination.

For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.

College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA HALL OF FAME® MEMBERSHIP

Class of 2010
Anita DeFrantz, Connecticut College '74*
Adonal Foyle, Colgate '99
James Kovach, Kentucky '79
Dewey Selmon, Oklahoma '76

Class of 2009
Tom Clark, Mount Vernon Nazarene '87
Diane Dietz, Michigan '82
Karch Kiraly, UCLA '83*
Julie Roe Lach, Millikin '97
Dr. Patrick Tyrance, Nebraska '90

Class of 2008
Rebecca Lobo, Connecticut '95
Dr. Kenneth Caldwell, Citadel '79
Amy Privette Perko, Wake Forest '87
Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Duke '86*
Karen Jennings, Nebraska '93

Class of 2007
Julie Foudy, Stanford '94
Joe Girardi, Northwestern '86
Dr. Amy Sullivan Nordmann, Washington (Mo.) '94

Maj. Lance Pilch, Air Force '93
Steven Smith, Stanford  '80*

Class of 2006
Dr. Robert Burger, Notre Dame  '81
Dr. Hilarie Cranmer, Hofstra  '88
Michael Gminski, Duke  '80
Timothy Green, Syracuse  '86
Dr. Joseph H. Taylor, Haverford  '63*

Class of 2005
Cormac Carney, UCLA  '83
Ken Dryden, Cornell '69*
Dr. Claudia Henemyre Harris, Western Maryland  '92

John Paxson, Notre Dame  '83
Tracy Warren, Trenton State  '87

Class of 2004
Terry Hoage, Georgia  '84
Dave Rimington, Nebraska  '83
Rolf Benirschke, UC Davis '77*
Dylann Duncan Ceriani, Brigham Young '88

Gill Beck, Appalachian State '78

Class of 2003
Kip Corrington, Texas A&M '87
Chris Howard, Air Force '91
Donna Lopiano, Southern Connecticut '68*
Kim Mulkey-Robertson, Louisana Tech '84
Steve Young, Brigham Young '84

Class of 2002
Richard Balzhiser, Michigan  '52
Susan Cassidy, Molloy College '86
Raymond Shafer, Allegheny  '38*
John Stockton, Gonzaga  '84
Susan Walsh, North Carolina '84

Class of 2001
Lynn Barry, William & Mary  '81
Cris Collinsworth, Florida  '81
Gary Hall, Sr., Indiana *
John Hall, Vanderbilt  '55
Jennifer Trosper, M.I.T. '91

Class of 2000
Danny Ainge, Brigham Young '92
Regina Cavanaugh Murphy, Rice '87
Oliver Luck, West Virginia '82
Pablo Morales, Stanford '87
Sherwood Rowland, Ohio Wesleyan '48*

Class of 1999
Val Ackerman, Virginia  '81
John Fowler, Jr., UCLA  '78
Chad Hennings, Air Force  '88
Jeannie Henningsen, Buena Vista '87
Jolanda Jones, Houston  '89

Class of 1998
Leigh Curl, Connecticut  '85
Bernie Kosar, Miami  '85
Marv Levy, Coe  '50*
Jack Mildren, Oklahoma  '72
Jack Sikma, Illinois Wesleyan  '77

Class of 1997
Todd Blackledge, Penn State '83
Tracy Caulkins Stockwell, Florida  '85
Dick Enberg, Central Michigan '57*
Tim Foley, Purdue  '70
Ellen Mayer-Sabik, Cornell  '84

Class of 1996
Wade Mitchell, Georgia Tech '57
Ron Perry, Holy Cross '80
Bob Thomas, Notre Dame '74
Byron White, Colorado  '38*
Carlton Young, Villanova  '83

Class of 1995
Doug Collins, Illinois State  '81
Bob Elliott, Arizona  '77
Michelle Johnson, Air Force  '81
Pat Richter, Wisconsin  '64

Class of 1994
Anne Donovan, Old Dominion  '83
Rich Mayo, Air Force  '61
Lee Roy Selmon, Oklahoma  '75
Bill Walton, UCLA  '74
John Wooden, Purdue '32*

Class of 1993
Raymond Berry, SMU  '55
Dave Casper, Notre Dame  '74
Jim Grabowski, Illinois  '66
Kermit Washington, American  '73

Class of 1992
Alan Ameche, Wisconsin  '55
Steve Eisenhauer, Navy  '54
Randy Gradishar, Ohio State  '74
Lynette Woodard, Kansas  '81

Class of 1991
Terry Baker, Oregon State  '63
Joe Holland, Cornell  '78
David Joyner, Penn State  '72
Brock Strom, Air Force  '59

Class of 1990
Lester Jordan, SMU *
Steve Taylor, Delaware  '78
Joe Theismann, Notre Dame  '71
Howard Twilley, Tulsa  '68
Jamaal Wilkes, UCLA  '74

Class of 1989
Carlos Alvarez, Florida  '72
Willie Bogan, Dartmouth  '71
Steve Bramwell, Washington  '67
Joe Romig, Colorado  '63
Jim Swink, Texas Christian  '57
John Wilson, Michigan State  '53

Class of 1988
Bill Bradley, Princeton  '65
Pete Dawkins, Army  '59
Pat Haden, USC  '75
Tom McMillen, Maryland  '74
Donn Moomaw, UCLA  '54
Merlin Olsen, Utah State  '62

* Honorary inductee