NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award Presented To Dikembe Mutombo

Basketball legend and humanitarian Dikembe Mutombo, a former student-athlete at Georgetown University, will posthumously receive the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Theodore Roosevelt Award for his lifelong dedication to global health and education. Nicknamed "The Teddy," this is the highest honor the NCAA may confer on an individual.The award is presented annually to a distinguished citizen of national reputation and outstanding accomplishment who exemplifies the ideals of collegiate athletics and amateur sports competitions.

While playing for Georgetown, Mutombo earned two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and All-America honors, and he helped lead the Hoyas to an NCAA Elite Eight appearance. His 18-year Hall of Fame career in the NBA was as notable for philanthropic achievements as athletic ones. Mutombo founded a $29 million hospital in Kinshasa, Congo, through his foundation, served as the NBA’s first global ambassador, and received numerous honors — including the Mannie Jackson Human Spirit Award — for his tireless advocacy for health, education and equity worldwide.

Mutombo died September 30, 2024, at age 58 from brain cancer. His family will attend the NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C. in January to accept the award on his behalf and the Theodore Roosevelt Association congratulates them on this well-deserved recognition.

Theodore Roosevelt had a significant involvement in sports and in the creation of the NCAA, shaping the landscape of college athletics in the United States. Concerned about college football’s future and its impact on young athletes, TR convened a landmark meeting at the White House with leaders from prominent football programs such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. There, he urged them to clean up the game, underscoring the need for safer rules and better enforcement.

This momentum led to a broader meeting of about 60 schools in New York in December 1905, which created a rules committee and established a system for enforceable regulations in college sports. This body was initially called the Intercollegiate Athletic Association, formed in 1906, which later became the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1910.