Eastern Kentucky University President Michael Benson was elected chair of the nine-person NCAA Honors Committee at the organization’s recent convention.
It marks the first time any university president from Kentucky has chaired the Committee.
“I am privileged to serve in this capacity with my fellow members of the NCAA Honors Committee,” Benson said. “The myriad contributions of student-athletes across all three divisions of the NCAA – and those specifically chosen for recognition by the Association – are truly inspiring as we endeavor to highlight the many positives that come from participation in intercollegiate athletics.”
Benson became the first Ohio Valley Conference president to serve on the committee when he was appointed in 2014.
The Committee selects recipients for the Theodore Roosevelt Award, Silver Anniversary Awards, Today’s Top Eight Awards, Inspiration Award and Award of Valor. Members include one current or former chancellor or president from a member institution, one member from each division and subdivision of Division I, one Division II Management Council representative and one Division III Management Council representative, and three nationally distinguished citizens, one of which must be a former NCAA honors recipient.