Commodore Great Charles Davis to Receive Award

Commodore Great Charles Davis to Receive Award

1/4/2006

Former Vanderbilt basketball great Charles Davis will be one of six former NCAA student-athletes to receive the 2006 Silver Anniversary Award on Jan. 7 at the annual NCAA convention in Indianapolis.

The award, presented to the recipients at the NCAA Honors Celebration, recognizes former student-athletes who completed successful collegiate careers in various sports 25 years ago and went on to excel in their chosen professions.

The complete list of Silver Anniversary Award honorees include: Valerie Ackerman (University of Virginia, basketball); Danny Ainge (Brigham Young University, basketball); Charles Davis (Vanderbilt University, basketball); Terry Schroeder (Pepperdine University, water polo); Michael Singletary (Baylor University, football); and Susan Wellington (Yale University, swimming and diving, and softball).

Davis played four seasons at Vanderbilt (1977-1979, 1981), leading the Commodores in both scoring and rebounding in 1977 and 1979. He earned First Team All-Southeastern Conference accolades in 1979, averaging 18.6 points and 8.7 rebounds.

Davis still ranks among Vanderbilt’s top performers, tied with Mike Rhodes for the school record for made field goals with 683. He also currently ranks seventh in both scoring (1,675) and rebounding (743) at Vanderbilt.

After earning his degree from Vanderbilt, Davis went on to play eight seasons in the NBA with Washington, Milwaukee, San Antonio and Chicago from 1982-90. He also played internationally in Italy and Japan. He also served as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt from 1995-1996.

For more than two decades Davis has strived to positively impact Nashvillians living in impoverished areas through the creation of the Charles Davis Foundation. A product himself of the Tony Sudekum public housing “projects” of South Nashville, Davis’ foundation provides programs that enhance the quality of life for thousands of residents. The foundation, founded in 1982, helps families and youth reach their full potential through sports camps and leagues, mentoring, job placement and training, tutoring, computer training, drug prevention, character development, HIV/AIDS awareness, survival skills, scholarship, financial aid, guest lectures, cultural exposure and economic development.

Davis also is co-founder and president/CEO of CNT Enterprises, LLC, for real estate development and construction management.

Davis has won numerous awards for his contributions to Nashville. He is a Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame inductee and received the professional achievement award by the Vanderbilt Alumni Association. Davis earned the Civitan’s Nashville Citizen of the Year award in 1994 and was named one of the 10 Most Influential African-Americans in Nashville Sports History in 2004.

Other 2006 Silver Anniversary Award winners include:
Valerie B. Ackerman (University of Virginia), Women’s Basketball
President, USA Basketball
A four year starter, three-time team captain and two-time academic all-American, Ackerman’s collegiate basketball career concluded by being named the Atlantic Coast Conference scholar athlete of the year and receiving the Jettie Hill Award for the highest grade-point average among all Virginia female athletes. Following graduation, Ackerman played professional basketball in France for one year.

After obtaining her law degree from University of California, Los Angeles, Ackerman worked for a major New York City law firm before being hired as a staff attorney for the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1988. From 1990-1992, she served as special assistant to NBA Commissioner David Stern, then was named NBA vice president of business affairs in 1994. In 1996, she was appointed the first-ever president of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) where she served until being named to her current post as president of USA Basketball in 1995.

As a member of the Board of Directors of USA Basketball, Ackerman was instrumental in the formation of the 1995-96 USA Basketball Women’s National Team, which won the 1996 Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. In 2005, Ackerman was named a recipient of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association President’s Award and also received the inaugural Sports Business Woman of the Year Award given by the University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.

Ackerman currently serves on the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes and the National Board of Directors of Girls, Incorporated. She is a board member for USA Basketball and serves on the Executive Committee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2005, Ackerman was appointed a member of the Knight Commission.

Danny Ainge (Brigham Young University), Men’s Basketball
Executive Director of Basketball Operations, Boston Celtics
A three-sport high school athlete, Ainge was drafted in the 15th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. While playing collegiate basketball at Brigham Young, Ainge spent his first three years also playing professional baseball at Toronto.

Named both the 1981 John Wooden and Eastman Award winner, Ainge averaged 24.4 points per game during his senior season. Ainge still holds several individual season and career records at Brigham Young and is the only Brigham Young men’s basketball player to have his jersey retired.

After graduation, Ainge was selected in the second round of the 1981 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft and spent 14 seasons playing for the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trailblazers and Phoenix Suns. A member of two world championship teams with the Celtics (1984, 1986), Ainge is only one of three retired NBA players to make 1,000 three-point shots.

Hired as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns, Ainge was promoted to head coach eight games into the year. Ainge served as an NBA game and studio analyst for Turner Sports before being named Executive Director of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics in 2003.

Ainge has worked with several community and charitable organizations including the Children’s Miracle Network, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Stay-In-School campaign and Special Olympics. He remains actively involved with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ainge and wife Michelle, have six children and two grandchildren.

Dr. Terry Schroeder (Pepperdine University), Men’s Water Polo
Head Men’s Water Polo Coach, Pepperdine University
Chiropractor
Named a 1981 NCAA Top Ten Scholar-Athlete, Schroeder was the leading scorer on the Pepperdine men’s water polo team during three of his four years. While competing at Pepperdine, he was selected to the United States national water polo team. Schroeder is the only United States four-time water polo Olympian in history, earning two silver medals. In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he was selected to carry the United States flag for Team USA in the closing ceremonies.

Twice named the best water polo player in the world by Swimming World magazine, Schroeder has been the men’s head water polo coach at Pepperdine since 1986. In his 19 years as head coach, he has led the team to eight NCAA Championship appearances and one NCAA title and has coached more than 20 all-Americans and one Olympian, compiling a .606 winning percentage overall. Schroeder has also worked as a water polo color analyst for TBS Sports, Prime Network, USA Cable and Bud Sports.

Schroeder graduated magna cum laude from Pepperdine with a degree in sports medicine and later attended chiropractic school. Currently, Schroeder and his wife Lori, also a chiropractor, donate their services to numerous organizations including the Special Olympics, the YMCA and several schools, as well as providing complimentary care to underprivileged patients. Schroeder designed and developed a posture-friendly backpack for children and donates hundreds of the Posture Packs to needy children nationwide.

Schroeder has served as a traveling ambassador in the United States and Europe for the 1985-86 Goodwill Games in Moscow, as well as the co-chairman for Barbara Bush’s organization, Project Literacy United States. A champion for children and the underprivileged, he works as an inspirational, motivational and instructional speaker at various camps, clinics, schools and civic organizations, and for 19 years, has donated sessions of summer water polo camps to charity organizations.

Michael Singletary (Baylor University), Football
Assistant Head Coach, Linebackers Coach; San Francisco 49ers
A four-year middle linebacker letterman who served as captain of the Baylor football team during his junior and senior campaigns, Singletary still owns six Baylor records. He was named to Baylor’s all-decade teams of both the 1970s and the 1980s, as well as the school’s defensive player of the decade for the 1980s. The list of accolades includes being named the Southwest Conference Defensive Player of the Decade for the 1980s; named to Baylor’s All-Hall Century Football Team; inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame; and inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Following his career as a Baylor Bear, Singletary was selected in the second round of the 1981 National Football League (NFL) draft by the Chicago Bears, where he played for 12 seasons. Selected to 10 consecutive Pro Bowls, Singletary was named to the NFL Team of the 1980s.

While in Chicago, Singletary won a Super Bowl championship and two Associated Press NFL defensive player of the year awards. Singletary was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility for the honor and in 1990, was named the NFL Man of the Year for his community service work and his excellence on the football field.

After retiring from professional football, Singletary co-founded The Leadership Zone, a company that provides leadership and motivational training. He often speaks to Fortune 500 companies about diversity, teamwork and leadership, and serves as a consultant with ServiceMaster Corp. and CoMark Corp. Singletary is a board member of Tranzact and Successories, Inc., and has authored three books.

Following two years coaching with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, Singletary is currently an assistant head coach/linebackers coach with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. A father of seven with wife Kim, he is most proud of being named the Father of the Year by the National Fatherhood Initiative.

Susan D. Wellington (Yale University), Women’s Swimming and Softball
Former President, Gatorade
A multi-sport athlete at Yale, Wellington competed in softball and served as a captain and all-American in swimming. She continues to be involved with Yale athletics as one of nine founding members of W.I.S.E.R., Women’s Intercollegiate Sports Endowment and Resource, a $1 million dollar endowment for women’s athletics at Yale.

Beginning her career at Quaker Oats, Wellington rose through the corporate ranks to hold posts as Vice President of Marketing for Gatorade and Vice President of Strategy and World-wide Market Development. She was President of Gatorade from 1998 through 2002.

Recognized throughout the marketing world as a strong brand-builder, Wellington has been named Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal’s Top 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports, Brandweek’s Power 50 and Crain’s Business ‘Top 40 under 40.’

Wellington, currently a director of the CDW Corporation, left Gatorade in 2002 to spend more time with her family. Currently, she is a member of the board of trustees and executive committee of the Women’s Sports Foundation, and a minority owner of the Chicago Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) franchise. Wellington is also a recreational tri-athlete.

The winners of the Silver Anniversary Award were selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, composed of eight athletics administrators and nationally distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes.