ACADEMIC HONORS PROGRAM 1984 NCAA TOP SIX AWARD TERRY HOAGE ROV (1980-83)
1998 TOP EIGHT AWARD MATT STINCHCOMB OT (1995-98)
2002 TOP EIGHT AWARD JON STINCHCOMB OT (1999-2002)
1997 NCAA Teddy Roosevelt Award Billy Payne, DE (1966-68)
G e o rg i a ’s two-time AllAmerica and Academic All-America roverback Terry Hoage probably best characterized the ideal of the studentathlete. For his achievements both on and off the field, Hoage became Georgia’s first recipient of the NCAA Top VI Award at the NCAA convention in January, 1984. The Top Six Award is presented annually to student-athletes who have achieved athletic success, shown leadership qualities and displayed academic prowess. He set a school record with 12 interceptions during the 1982 season. He placed fifth in the 1983 Heisman Trophy balloting — the highest finish ever for a defensive back at that time. Hoage maintained a 3.7 grade point average in Genetics.
One of the the most decorated players in Georgia football history, Matt Stinchcomb, was honored with the 1998 N C A A To p Eight Award. The Top VIII Award is presented annually to eight student-athletes for their achievement in athletics, academics, and leadership. A twotime All-America OT, two time Academic All-America, and national Academic All-American of the Year in 1998, Stinchcomb also was a twotime member of the AFCA Good Works Team recognizing outstanding community service. A finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award, he received post-graduate scholarships from the NCAA, National Football Foundation, and won the Burger King Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Division 1-A. He graduated with a 3.96 grade point average in business.
Following in the footsteps of his older brother Matt, Bulldog lineman Jon Stinchcomb became the third Georgia football player to receive the prestigious NCAA Top VIII Award, presented to eight student-athletes for accomplishments in both academics and athletics as well as character and leadership. A semifinalist for the 2002 Lombardi Award, Stinchcomb was named to the Walter Camp All-America team and the Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-America squad. A first-team AllSoutheastern Conference selection by the AP and the SEC Coaches, he anchored the Bulldog line in leading Georgia to a record-setting 13-1 record, SEC title and Sugar Bowl victory. He was the male student-athlete representative to the University's athletics board of directors. He held a 3.75 grade point average in microbiology.
Billy Payne, president and CEO of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, (ACOG) received the Theodore Roosevelt Award – the NCAA's highest honor – during the annual convention in January, 1997. The award is presented annually to a distinguished citizen who is a former college athlete and has exemplified the ideals and purposes of college athletics by demonstrating a continuing interest and concern for physical fitness and sport. Payne, a three-year letterman for the Bulldogs (1966-68), graduated from Georgia in 1969 and earned his law degree from the University in 1973. After a successful law practice in Atlanta, he began his work of bringing the Olympic Games to Atlanta in 1988.
NCAA SILVER ANNIVERSARY AWARD
(presented to former student-athletes, on the 25th anniversary of their senior year, who have distinguished themselves in their chosen career field)
1996 NCAA SILVER ANNIVERSARY AWARD DR. TOM LYONS, C (1968-70)
1986 NCAA SILVER ANNIVERSARY AWARD FRAN TARKENTON, QB (1958-60)
Former University of Georgia AllAmerica center Dr. Tom Lyons, director of the Center for Women’s Care and Reproductive Surgery in Atlanta, was one of six selected nationally to receive the 1996 award. Lyons was chosen to present the acceptance response in behalf of all Silver Anniversary winners at the 1996 NCAA convention, a group which included football legends Joe Theisman of Notre Dame and Jack Youngblood of Florida and track great Marty Liquori of Villanova. Since beginning his medical practice full time, Lyons has become one of the nation’s leading physicians in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. A two-time All-America and All-SEC lineman (1969 and ’70), Lyons was awarded the prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship and National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Post-Graduate Fellowship. He was a six-year starter with the NFL’s Denver Broncos, attending medical school and completed his internship and residency at the University of Colorado during his NFL playing career.
Fran Tarkenton, All-America quarterback at Georgia and All-Pro with both the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants of the NFL, became the Bulldogs’ first recipient of the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in 1986. A native of Athens who first played in Sanford Stadium as part of the Athens YMCA’s youth games prior to Bulldog contests, Tarkenton was a two-time first-team All-Southeastern Confernce selection and led Georgia to the 1959 SEC Championship. After throwing four touchdowns in his first NFL game, Tarkenton enjoyed an illustrious 18-year pro career and was named the league MVP in 1975. When he retired from the NFL in 1978, Tarkenton was the league’s all-time leader in passing attempts (6,467) completions (3,686), yardage (47,003) and touchdowns (342). Vikings coach Bud Grant said Tarkenton was ‘‘the greatest quarterback ever to play the game.’’ The same year Tarkenton received the NCAA’s Silver Anniversary Award, he was also inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. The following year, 1987, Tarkenton was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame as well.
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