Bill Walton to Earn CoSIDA Dick Enberg Award

Bill Walton, who led UCLA to NCAA Championships in 1972 and 1973, has been selected to receive the 2018 Dick Enberg Award, annually presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The Dick Enberg Award, named for the late world-renowned and legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster, is presented each year to a person whose actions and commitment have furthered the meaning and reach of the Academic All-America Teams Program and the student-athlete, while promoting the values of education and academics.

The award was created in part to recognize Enberg's passion and support of the Academic All-America program and, more importantly, his dedication to education for more than four decades.

A longtime friend of Enberg, Walton will receive the honor at the ninth annual CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame Ceremony. This year's ceremony will take place Thursday, June 28, at the Gaylor National Resort and Conference Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The CoSIDA Convention occurs in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention for the sixth consecutive year.

"I am not worthy of this, but I am honored, humbled, grateful and very proud to receive the Dick Enberg Award," Walton said. "I am blown away by the kindness and generosity of Barbara and the entire Enberg family, and of CoSIDA, with honoring me with the Dick Enberg Award, on the heels of my hero's passing. Dick Enberg was as fine, as talented, as accredited, as accomplished, as skilled, as professional, and as great a broadcaster as I've ever seen. He was an even better human being. For well over 50 years, I was his fan, subject, pupil, intern, broadcast partner, co-conspirator in the game of life, and friend. He was the most unique and remarkable force of nature."

During his UCLA career, Walton was a three-time Academic All-America first-team selection as a sophomore, junior and senior (1972, 1973 and 1974). He was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame, then sponsored by GTE, in 1994. Walton graduated from UCLA with honors with a B.A. in history. He also attended Stanford University Graduate School of Law in the early 1980s.

While at UCLA, Walton represented academic and athletic excellence. That excellence has been embodied by CoSIDA's signature Academic All-America program, which Enberg embraced as the program's long-time ambassador and spokesperson. Enberg passed away suddenly on Dec. 21, 2017, at his home in La Jolla, Calif., at the age of 82.

"CoSIDA is thrilled to present the 2018 Dick Enberg Award to Bill Walton," said Rob Carolla, CoSIDA President and Director of Communications for the College Football 150th Anniversary. "It will be difficult for our membership and past Academic All-America Hall of Famers not to have Dick present at this year's ceremony. Yet, I am certain that he would be as excited as anyone to know his close friend Bill is receiving this honor. From overcoming challenges while growing up to his commitment to the community, Walton is a wonderful recipient. As Dick himself once said about Bill – his energy and enthusiasm are unparalleled."

As the 22nd recipient of the Enberg Award, Walton joins a select group that includes a United States President, college presidents and chancellors, several of the top winningest Division I coaches in the sports of football, men's basketball and women's basketball, numerous Olympic medalists and a former member of the United States Cabinet.

"I was barely 14 years old, maybe, when Dick graciously entered my world as the local broadcaster for UCLA Basketball. It was 1966. He never left, and I'm the better for it. There was never a moment for more than the next five decades that Dick did not exhibit an unsurpassed level of class, dignity, optimism, hope, and exuberance for life lived to the fullest."

Before a series of injuries hampered his professional career, Walton dominated college basketball. At UCLA in the early 1970s, the 6-foot-11 center was a force on the hardwood. He helped the Bruins win a then-record 88 consecutive games and two NCAA titles in 1972 and 1973. The theme of "two championships" was a fixture in Walton's basketball career, as he won two high school championships in 1969 and 1970, two NCAA titles at UCLA, and then two NBA Finals championships – one with the Portland Trail Blazers (1977) and another with the Boston Celtics (1986).

Walton is one of only four players in the history of basketball to have won multiple NCAA and multiple NBA Championships. He is also the second of only five players in the history of the NBA to lead the league in both blocked shots and rebounding in the same season.

During his UCLA career, Walton scored 1,767 points (20.3 points per game average) and collected 1,370 rebounds (breaking Lew Alcindor's school record with his 15.7 rebounds per game average). Walton finished as the second-most accurate shooter in school history, compiling a 65.1 overall field goal percentage. He was the recipient of the 1973 James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. He also secured the USBWA College Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year honors, for three seasons in a row.

After graduating with honors from UCLA, Walton was the No. 1 overall selection in the 1974 NBA Draft by Portland. He was a member of Portland's world championship team in 1977, securing MVP honors. Nine year later in 1986, he helped Boston win the 1986 NBA title. Walton played with Portland from 1974-79, the San Diego Clippers from 1979-84, the relocated Los Angeles Clippers in 1985 and then Boston from 1985-88. Walton was also named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 1978 and was a two-time NBA All-Star (1977, 1978).

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Bill Walton to Earn CoSIDA Dick Enberg Award

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