CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame

by Adonal Foyle

On Tuesday July 6th, I was inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame for my work not only as an athlete, but as a student as well.

There have great sports legends in the past who were given this honor (John Stockton, Bill Walton, John Wooden, Steve Young, Merlin Olsen and Joe Thiesmann, to name a few.

I've been truly humbled to have my work outside the court recognized throughout the course of my career. Of the many honors I have received, this might be among the most special honors because it combines three aspects of my life that I care most about. It recognizes charity work, basketball and academics. These are the top three pillars I like to think about when I reflect back on my life.

I was given a wonderful opportunity to go to a good school and receive an amazing education. Through basketball, I've been fortunate enough to be given wealth and be able to help so many other people. Not just here in the United States, where I started my first non-profit organization (Democracy Matters) where we teach people political awareness and the importance of campaign finance reform, but also overseas where my other non-profit (the Kerosene Lamp Foundation) allows us to go to different countries and refurbish basketball courts, teach kids the importance of basketball and academics.

To be given an honor in a genre that combines all of the very things that I care about is really special. And one of the things that makes this special are the people who were given this honor before me, as well as those who will be honored along with me that same night. When you talk about people in the past like John Wooden, Steve Young and Bill Walton, along with those who are sharing this night with me (football players Dr. James Kovach, of the University of Kentucky and Dewey Selmon, of the University of Oklahoma, and Connecticut College rower Anita DeFrantz), this is an extraordinary honor.

- Adonal