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| Dikembe Mutombo will receive the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award |
From our friends at Georgetown Athletics...
Former Georgetown University men’s basketball All-American Dikembe Mutombo (SLL’91) will be one of six former college student-athletes to receive the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award for their collegiate and professional achievements, it was announced today.
The Silver Anniversary Award annually recognizes distinguished individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their college athletics careers. Representatives of NCAA member schools and conferences, along with a panel of former student-athletes, select each year’s recipients.
In addition to Mutombo, the 2015 recipients are Abby Cheng (Arkansas State, women’s volleyball, biological sciences), Chris Howard (Air Force, football, industrial and operational engineering), Joe Juneau (RPI, hockey, aeronautical engineering), Russell Maryland (Miami, football, psychology) and Steve Smith (Michigan State, basketball (interdisciplinary social science.)
This is the second recent honor for Mutombo, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last month.
A two-time All-BIG EAST selection at Georgetown, Mutombo averaged 15.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocks as a senior in 1991, when he was named First Team All-BIG EAST and earned Third Team All-American honors. Mutombo was selected to Georgetown's "All Century Team" and still ranks among the all-time leaders in blocked shots (3rd, 354) and rebounds (12th, 8.6 per game.)
Mutombo played 18 seasons in the NBA and was an eight-time NBA All-Star (1992, 1995-98 and 2000-02) and a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001). He led the NBA in blocked shots for five-straight seasons (1994-98) and blocks per game for a record three consecutive seasons (1994-96.) He finished his NBA career with 11,729 points, 12,359 rebounds and 3,289 blocks.
Off the court, Mutombo has long made it a priority to improve the quality of life for the people of his native Congo. In 1997, he founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, dedicated to improving the health, education and quality of life for people in the republic. The foundation provides comprehensive health care at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, and promotes health care, disease prevention, health policy, health research and increased access to health care education. He received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2001 and 2009.
The NCAA will recognize the honorees at the Honors Celebration during the 2016 NCAA Convention on Jan. 15 in San Antonio.
