July 8, 2004
STAMFORD, CT -- Jim Paxson, former University Of Dayton All-American and current President/General Manager of Basketball Operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers, is among a group of 25 finalists for induction into the 17th annual CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame. Four of the finalists will be inducted at ceremonies in San Diego, California, on July 21.
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), established the Hall of Fame in 1988 to honor former college scholar-athletes who have excelled in their professions and made substantial contributions to their communities. To be eligible, a candidate had to be an Academic All-America team member who graduated at least 10 years ago.
The Hall of Fame finalists were chosen from a group of more than 200 nominees and were selected by a 120-member voting board representing CoSIDA's 2,000 members. CBS broadcaster Dick Enberg, will serve as master of ceremonies at this year's 17th annual induction. There are currently 78 members of the Hall of Fame.
Jim's brother John Paxson, a former Notre Dame basketball player who is now the general manager of the Chicago Bulls, is also on the list. Other finalists include former Stanford and U.S. national team women's soccer player Julie Foudy, former Georgia football player Terrell Hoage, and former Nebraska football player Dave Rimington.
The Academic All-America Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Division I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America program, please visit www.cosida.com.
2004 CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame Finalists
1. Alvan Adams University of Oklahoma 2. Brad Beanblossom Oklahoma State University 3. Gill Beck Appalachian State University 4. Brian Branson Elon University 5. Robert Burger University of Notre Dame 6. Richard Cerone Seton Hall University 7. Megan Donnelly University of Massachusetts 8. Dylann Duncan Ceriani Brigham Young University 9. Julie Foudy Stanford University 10. Joe Girardi Northwestern University 11. Mike Gminski Duke University 12. Timothy Green Syracuse University 13. Katie Haller University of Southern California 14. Dr. Jeffery Harris Illinois State University 15. Terrell Hoage University of Georgia 16. Mark Kelso College of William & Mary 17. Brent Lang University of Michigan 18. Dr. James Martin The Pennsylvania State University 19. Michele Mitchell-Rocha University of Arizona 20. Jim Paxson University of Dayton 21. John Paxson University of Notre Dame 22. Lance Pilch United States Air Force Academy 23. Dave Rimington University of Nebraska 24. Misty Thomas University of Nevada Las Vegas 25. Tracy Warren The College of New Jersey
