At its Convention in January, the NCAA will honor six former student-athletes for their outstanding collegiate and professional achievements.
The Silver Anniversary Award recipients are recognized on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their college athletics careers. The awardees were nominated by administrators at their undergraduate school and are selected by a panel of former student-athletes and representatives from NCAA member schools and conferences.
The 2023 recipients are Phil Dawson, Allison Feaster, Dr. Marsha Harris, Lenny Krayzelburg, Peyton Manning and Kate Markgraf. The awardees will be celebrated at the NCAA Honors Celebration on Jan. 11 in San Antonio.
Learn more about the 2023 recipients below:
Phil Dawson
School: University of Texas at Austin
Major: Political Science
Sport: Football
Kicker Phil Dawson was a two-time All-American and member of the 1996 Big 12 and the 1995 Southwest Conference championship football teams. The 1997 captain finished his career at Texas with 13 school records, including all-time marks for scoring (339), field goals (59), field goal accuracy (74.7%), and records of 15 straight field goals, 54 straight extra points and six straight field goals made from 50 or more yards. In 1997, Dawson was named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team and the Big 12 Commissioner's List. After graduation, he began a 21-year career in the NFL, kicking for the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals. Dawson played in 305 games and ranks eighth in the league for field goals made (441) and 14th in points scored (1,847). He earned second-team All-Pro honors twice. During his 14 seasons with the Browns, he set team records for most consecutive field goals made (29) and most field goals made in a game (6). In 2012, Dawson made the Pro Bowl roster and was voted as the Browns Player of the Year by the local Professional Football Writers Association chapter. He received the 2015 Bill Walsh Award from the 49ers after making 24 of his 27 field goal attempts that year. After retirement, Dawson became the special teams coordinator at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, and is currently the head football coach and assistant athletics director at Hyde Park Schools in Austin, Texas. While in the NFL, Dawson received the 2006 Doug Dieken Humanitarian Award and the 2007 Dino Lucarelli "Good Guy" Award, and founded Dawson's 4 Adoption, providing food, clothing and game tickets to those in Cleveland's Adoption Network.
Watch Phil's video from the 2023 NCAA Convention here.
Allison Feaster
School: Harvard University
Major: Economics
Sport: Basketball
Forward Allison Feaster, a three-time Ivy League Player of the Year and four-time first-team All-Ivy selection, led her team to three straight Ivy League titles between 1996 and 1998 and an upset over top-seeded Stanford in the 1998 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. Feaster holds numerous records at Harvard, including career points (2,312), rebounds (1,157), offensive rebounds (440), steals (290), field goals made (771) and free throws made (475). She was the 1998 recipient of the Radcliffe Prize, given to the most outstanding female student-athlete at Harvard. Feaster was the fifth overall pick in the 1998 WNBA draft, going to the Los Angeles Sparks. Named to the WNBA All-Star Team in 2004, she played professionally with the Sparks, the Charlotte Sting and Indiana Fever and overseas with teams in Portugal, Italy, Spain and France. Feaster was inducted into Harvard's Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2016, she was selected to participate in the NBA's Basketball Operations Associate Program as one of two women in the program. In September 2019, she joined the Boston Celtics, where she is currently the vice president of player development and organizational growth. Feaster also co-leads the Boston Celtics United for Social Justice initiative, which focuses on addressing social and racial inequities in Greater Boston. She has served as a sports representative to Myanmar, the Philippines, Suriname and Guyana with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. A champion of the advancement of women and girls, she was honored by YW Boston at the Academy of Women Achievers celebration in 2022.
Watch Allison's video from the 2023 NCAA Convention here.
Dr. Marsha Harris
School: New York University
Major: Chemistry
Sport: Basketball
Two-time first-team Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American Marsha Harris led New York University to its first national title at the 1997 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship, where she scored the game-winning basket with 1.5 seconds remaining. Harris was a two-time University Athletic Association Player of the Year and was a four-time All-UAA honoree. She holds school records for the most career points (2,140) and field goals made (779) and tied the program record for most points in a single game (41). She was inducted into the New York University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1998, Harris received the NCAA Walter Byers Graduate Scholarship. She attended New York University's Grossman School of Medicine and completed her general surgery residency there. Harris became a colorectal surgeon after completing a fellowship at the Colon and Rectal Clinic of Orlando. A published researcher, Harris is a board-certified surgeon specializing in minimally invasive and robotic surgery for colon and rectal cancer, diverticulitis, colon motility disorders, anorectal diseases, pilonidal diseases and pelvic floor dysfunction. She is the owner of Park Avenue Colon and Rectal Surgery in New York, and she also serves as a clinical assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Grossman school. The 1998 New York University commencement speaker was voted Castle Connolly Top Doctors in the New York Metro Area from 2018-2022 and New York Magazine Top Doctors in 2021 and 2022. A member of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons, she has received the Vitals Compassionate Doctor Award and Vitals Patient Choice Award and was named to the Healthgrades Honor Roll.
Watch Marsha's video from the 2023 NCAA Convention here.
Lenny Krayzelburg
School: University of Southern California
Major: Business Administration
Sport: Swimming
Lenny Krayzelburg was the 1997 NCAA 200-yard backstroke champion, a nine-time College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America All-American and a four-time Pac-12 champion. A team captain, he set school records in medley relays and backstroke specialties in 1997. Krayzelburg pursued his swimming career professionally and from 1997-2008 acquired numerous medals, records and wins. The four-time Olympic gold medalist also won three gold medals at the 1998 and 2000 World Championships. He set five world records, including in the 50-, 100- and 200-meter backstroke. The 2004 Olympic team captain was a finalist in 1998 for the U.S. Olympic Committee SportsMan of the Year and the 1999 and 2000 USA Swimmer of the Year. Krayzelburg was inducted into the University of Southern California's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001, the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2011. He was named to the Pac-12 all-century men's swimming and diving team in 2016. Krayzelburg became the general manager of the Los Angeles Current in the International Swimming League in 2019. He is the founder and CEO of the Lenny Krayzelburg SwimRight Academy, which provides water safety lessons and education to children of all ages across the United States. Krayzelburg, who immigrated to the United States as a teen during the Soviet era from what is now Ukraine to escape antisemitism, is a board member of Tikva Odessa, a rescue aid and education organization serving at-risk Jewish children in Ukraine. He is also a board member of the American Friends of Israel Sport Center for the Disabled. He started the Lenny Krayzelburg Foundation, which works with youth and child welfare organizations to increase local swimming-based opportunities.
Watch Lenny's video from the 2023 NCAA Convention here.
Peyton Manning
School: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Major: Communications
Sport: Football
Quarterback Peyton Manning was a member of Tennessee's1997 Southeastern Conference championship team and a first-team Football Writers Association of America All-American. He set 43 NCAA, SEC and Tennessee records. Manning earned the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Sullivan awards and was runner-up for the 1997 Heisman Trophy. He was a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American, won the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy (now the William V. Campbell Trophy) and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He was inducted into the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2018. The number one pick in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts later played for the Denver Broncos and is a two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year. He received five AP MVP awards, more than any other player. Manning was a 14-time Pro Bowl selection and the first quarterback to have multiple Super Bowl starts with more than one franchise. Manning's records include 4,000-passing-yard seasons (14), single-season passing yards (5,477) and single-season passing touchdowns (55). The 2005 Walter Payton Man of the Year, he was a member of the NFL All-Decade team of the 2000s and the NFL 100 All-Time team. His jersey numbers were retired by Tennessee and the Colts, and he was inducted into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016, College Football Hall of Fame in 2017, the state of Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. Manning founded Omaha Productions, which produces the ESPN Monday Night Football Manningcast. In 1999, he established the PeyBack Foundation, which supports disadvantaged youth through grants and programs. He is an ambassador and advocate for Peyton Manning Children's Hospital and member of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet and The Pat Summitt Foundation Advisory Board.
Watch Peyton's video from the 2023 NCAA Convention here.
Kate Markgraf
School: University of Notre Dame
Major: Science-Business
Sport: Soccer
Three-time United Soccer Coaches All-American Kate Sobrero Markgraf was a member of the 1995 NCAA Division I women's soccer championship team, capturing the honor of defensive MVP. Markgraf was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 1997 and had three career All-Big East selections. A two-time National Women's Soccer Player of the Year finalist, she started all 96 games of her career, tallying seven goals and 24 assists. After graduation, Markgraf continued her soccer career professionally with the Boston Breakers and Chicago Red Stars, as well as the U.S. Women's National Team. A member of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup championship team, she also earned gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Markgraf played professionally for 12 years, representing Team USA 201 times, and became the 10th woman in FIFA history to appear 200 times in international competition. After retirement, Markgraf earned master's degrees in kinesiology and educational psychology. She worked as a counselor at Cardinal Stritch University and as a broadcaster with ESPN. Markgraf's research has been published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. In August 2019, Markgraf became the first general manager of the U.S. women's national team and has helped hire staff, for the women's national teams at all ages, develop future talent and support in the team's fight for equal pay. As a volunteer, she has served as an assistant coach at Marquette, Harvard, Texas and Notre Dame and with youth teams in Milwaukee. Between 2012-2014, Markgraf traveled to Ethiopia, Chile and Peru with the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Soccer to work with youth. A member of the board of directors of Notre Dame's Monogram Club since 2009, she has organized community service opportunities for its members and currently serves as president.
Watch Kate's video from the 2023 NCAA Convention here.
