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For Immediate Release

Monday, May 24, 2010

Contact(s)

Gail Dent
Associate Director of Public and Media Relations
317/917-6117

INDIANAPOLIS--- Former NCAA President Myles Brand will be honored posthumously by the Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA) at their annual convention and have one of their signature awards—Administrator of the Year—renamed in his honor.   The ceremony will take place Friday, June 4, at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Clearwater, Fla.

BCA officials will honor Brand, who died in September from pancreatic cancer, with the 2010 BCA Administrator of the Year award for his unwavering support for diversity and inclusion within the NCAA and his lasting relationship with the BCA during his tenure as NCAA president.    Following this year, the BCA will rename the tribute the “BCA Myles Brand Administrator of the Year Award” in his honor.

“Myles was certainly a proponent of diversity and he often voiced his opinion in private and public settings regarding the need for more diverse representation in the coaching and administrative ranks of intercollegiate athletics,” said interim NCAA president Jim Isch.   “Like the BCA, Myles knew that if diversity issues were never addressed then diversity issues would never be resolved.   Naming Myles Brand the BCA Administrator of the Year, and renaming the award in his honor, is such a fitting tribute to a man who many times stood alongside the BCA in its ongoing advance of diversity in athletics.”  

“Dr. Brand was a former philosophy professor and he shared this quote from Aristotle with me,” said Charlotte Westerhaus, NCAA vice president of diversity and inclusion. “‘Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them.’  The BCA’s recognition of President Brand as BCA Administrator of the Year is deserved and a fitting recognition for his stellar leadership and staunch advocacy for enhancing the career opportunities for coaches and administrators within the BCA and intercollegiate athletics.”

“I applaud the BCA in honoring his illustrative and respected career by renaming the award in his honor.  I am confident that Dr. Brand would be extremely humbled, pleased and proud,” Westerhaus said.

“The Black Coaches and Administrators are pleased and honored to be able to recognize Dr. Brand with a deserved and most fitting tribute with the acknowledgment of this award,” said Floyd Keith, BCA executive director.   “What Myles stood for and believed in with regard to diversity and inclusion is the blueprint for administrators to follow.

“Dr. Brand was involved with BCA from the very beginning of his tenure as the NCAA president.  In addition, we are honored to rename our award the BCA Myles Brand Administrator of the Year Award, moving into the future,” Keith said.

Dr. Peg Brand, an associate professor in the departments of philosophy and women's studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, will attend the ceremony and accept the award in her late husband’s honor.  The ceremony will take place during the annual BCA Coach of the Year banquet. BCA convention attendees include athletic coaches and administrators, event sponsors and the local sports community.  Each year, the BCA honors representatives from its membership base for their excellence in athletics administration with the Administrator of the Year award.

About the NCAA

The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit  www.ncaa.org and  www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. 

About the Black Coaches & Administrators

The Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA) is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to foster the growth and development of ethnic minorities at all levels of sports both nationally and internationally. The BCA is committed to creating a positive enlightened environment where issues can be examined closely, debated sincerely and resolved honestly. The BCA's focus involves the concerns of its colleagues in professional sports, NCAA (Division I, II, and III), NAIA (Division I and II), junior college and high school levels. For more information, please contact the BCA or visit www.bcasports.cstv.com.