Higher credibility for Ronnie Lott Award
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They held a lunch at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, and a grand idea for all college sports awards broke out.
This won’t be the first Ronnie Lott Award, it will be the sixth. It will be given out at a fancy dinner at the Pacific Club in December. It is named, of course, for the Hall of Fame football player, who starred at USC and went on to become an All-Pro in the NFL.
The purpose of the recent luncheon was to name the original list of 42 players who will be in the running for the defensive Impact Player of the Year award, won last year by Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis. The 42 represents the number that Lott wore during his career.
Much about this award is similar to every other award -- high school, college, pro. There is a gradual cutdown program as the season progresses. Then they get to a final four, who come to the dinner, where the announcement is made.
Included in this year’s 42 is probably the leading candidate to be the defensive player of the year, USC’s Taylor Mays. No player from Lott’s alma mater has won yet.
Also on the list of 42 are UCLA linebacker Reggie Carter and defensive back Alterraun Verner, as well as Pac-10 players T.J. Ward of Oregon, Syd’Quan Thompson of Cal, Mike Nixon of Arizona State, Bo McNally of Stanford and Keaton Kristick of Oregon State.
The special nature of this award, however, has to do with the final four selection. Before this level, college sports information directors are involved in the certification of schoolwork and character in the feedback to the selection committee. Later, athletic directors are asked to sign off.
But for the final four players, college presidents must certify each as to character and academic effort before they are even brought to the final dinner.
Other awards on a college level ought to ponder this sort of high-level certification. It gives the entire program a slightly louder ring of credibility.
-- Bill Dwyre
