Yale Well-Represented at NCAA Honors Celebration

Jan. 7, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Yale was well-represented at the NCAA Honors Celebration on Saturday, as Jack Ford '72 emceed the event and Susan Wellington '81 received the NCAA's Silver Anniversary Award. The award recognizes former NCAA athletes who have achieved personal distinction since graduation. The ceremony was held during the annual NCAA Convention in Indianapolis.

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. She was honored with Yale's George H.W. Bush Lifetime of Leadership Award at this past November's Blue Leadership Ball.

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 other Silver Anniversary Award honorees were Valerie B. Ackerman (University of Virginia, women's basketball); Danny Ainge (Brigham Young University, men's basketball); Charles E. Davis (Vanderbilt University, men's basketball); Dr. Terry Schroeder (Pepperdine University, men's water polo) and Michael Singletary (Baylor University, football).

Wellington is Yale's 11th Silver Anniversary recipient since 1991. Here are the Bulldogs who have earned the honor:

YEAR, WINNER, SPORT
1991, Tone Grant, Football
1993, Donald Schollander, Swimming & Diving
1994, Calvin Hill, Football
1995, Kwaku Ohene-Frempong, Soccer/Track & Field
1996, Kurt Schmoke, Football/Lacrosse
1997, Jack Ford, Football
1998, Lawrie Mifflin, Field Hockey
2000, Lisa Rosenblum, Tennis
2004, Virginia "Ginny" Gilder, Rowing
2005, Gary Lawrence, Hockey
2006, Susan D. Wellington, Swimming & Softball