The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Conradt to be recognized with Giant Steps Award
06.04.2007 | Women's Basketball
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Former University of Texas women's basketball coach and Naismith Hall of Famer Jody Conradt will be honored in early 2008 as one of six recipients of a 2007 "Giant Steps Award," given by the National Consortium for Academics & Sports (NCAS).
The Giant Steps Award is presented to individuals who have achieved excellence in academics and athletics while having made significant contributions to the community.
The Giant Steps Awards are given annually in honor of those who exemplify the mission of the NCAS and its National STUDENT-Athlete Day (NSAD) program by promoting the positives of sport and using their status in the athletic world to give back to the community. The honor recognizes student-athletes, civic leaders, coaches, barrier breakers, parents, administrators and others , and is awarded in the categories of courageous student-athletes, coaches, civic leaders, athletic administrators, parents and teachers. Recipients are chosen by a diverse selection committee from hundreds of nominations received nationwide.
Conradt and the other recipients will receive their awards at the NCAS' Giant Steps Award Banquet and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony which is held each February in Orlando. The NCAS Giant Steps Awards Banquet has taken place annually since 1988.
The Giant Steps honor is the most recent of numerous academic/civic honors for Conradt, who in March stepped aside from her 38-year collegiate coaching career as the second-winningest men's or women's collegiate basketball coach in history (record of 900-307). Always placing great emphasis on student-athlete academic success, her Longhorn student-athletes maintained a 99 percent graduation rate during her 31 years at UT.
For her numerous community outreach and educational efforts, Conradt most recently was honored with the 2003 "Harvey Penick Award for Excellence in the Game of Life" from the social service organization Caritas of Austin in recognition of her community outreach and dedication and excellence in teaching; the CASEY Award from the Kansas City Sports Association (2004) in recognition of her contributions to amateur athletics; the Central Texas "Woman of Distinction" recognition (2005) from the Girl Scouts for her powerful impact and contributions as a role model; and the City of Austin's "Most Worthy Citizen" honor for 2007 from the Austin Board of Realtors for her lifetime of outstanding community service.
In addition to Conradt, who is being honored in the coaching division, the 2007 Giant Steps honorees include: former USA Olympic and World Cup soccer standout Julie Foudy (civic leader honor) for her work in establishing the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy; "Courageous Student-Athletes" Maurice Torres, Montclair State University basketball player, along with the brother-sister duo of Boston University softball player Brittany Detwiler and BU wrestler A.J. Detwiler; Johnnie Williams (barrier breaker honoree), high school football player and retired Army sergeant injured in Iraq who earned gold medals in weightlifting, discus and shot-put events at the National Veteran Wheelchair Games; and the youth baseball "The Miracle League", singled out as the top community organization.
Conradt is the third Longhorn coach or student-athlete to be singled out for a Giant Steps Award in the last four years. Former Longhorn football standout and Kansas City Chief's running back Priest Holmes was a 2003 recipient as a civic leader, and current UT women's track and field mentor Bev Kearney was recipient of the Giant Steps coaches award for 2004.
For more information about these award recipients, go to NCAASports.org.
