The NCAA Gerald R. Ford Award was named in recognition of Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States. Presented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the award honors an individual who has provided significant leadership in the role of advocate for intercollegiate athletics and has done so a continuous basis over the course of their career. Ford played the position of center in football at the University of Michigan, participating on national championship teams in 1932 and 1933. He turned down offers from Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions to study law at Yale University. The Gerald Ford Award was first awarded in 2004.
Recipients
The recipients of the award are:
In July 2012, following the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, the NCAA vacated the 2011 award given to Joe Paterno.