Jan. 11, 2006

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) presented Robert K. Kraft `63CC with the association's highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Award. The award presentation took place at the NCAA Honors Celebration, held at the association's annual convention in Indianapolis on January 7.

The "Teddy" is presented each year to "a distinguished citizen of national reputation and outstanding accomplishment who - having graduated from an NCAA member institution and having earned a varsity athletics award in college or having participated in competitive intercollegiate athletics in college - has by a continuing interest and concern for physical fitness and competitive sport and by personal example exemplified most clearly and forcefully the ideals and purposes to which collegiate athletics programs and amateur sports competition are dedicated," as noted on the NCAA web site. It is the highest honor that the NCAA can bestow on any individual.

Kraft, a 1963 graduate of Columbia College, played football for the Lions for three seasons, from 1959 to 1961, earning a varsity letter as a back and end for the lightweight football team in 1960. He is the first former Columbia student-athlete honored by the NCAA with the Teddy award. Previous recipients of the award include United States Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, as well as former Supreme Court Justice Byron White. In 1967, the first recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Award was General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who served as President of Columbia University from 1948-53.

Columbia Director of Athletics M. Dianne Murphy accepts the Theodore Roosevelt Award from Jack Ford on behalf of Robert Kraft. Owner of the New England Patriots, Kraft was at his team's playoff game vs. Jacksonville on the night of the ceremony
"We are so delighted that Robert Kraft was the recipient of this year's Theodore Roosevelt Award," said Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, director of intercollegiate athletics and physical education at Columbia University. "He is most deserving of this tremendous honor."

Kraft, a Columbia University Trustee Emeritus, is the Chairman and CEO of the National Football League's New England Patriots. Since purchasing the Patriots in 1994, he has turned the organization into one of the model franchises in professional sports, winning three NFL Super Bowl championships in the past four years.