PRESIDEN T’S COL U M N by John Hennessy
Hail to the Victors,
a Study in Self-Discipline
Our student-athletes’ dedication enables a win-win situation.
With its magnificent win in the Orange Bowl on January 3,
Stanford’s football team made history, finishing fourth in the
nation, its highest berth in 70 years. Days earlier, the women’s
basketball team updated its own chapter in the history books,
ending Connecticut’s 90-game winning streak and making women’s basketball a nationwide focus.
Stanford athletics has had some magnificent years, and this
year is certainly among the greatest. From the University’s earliest days, when President David Starr Jordan played in the annual
faculty-senior baseball game, athletics has had an important role
in building a strong community. Today we have an outstanding a
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Division I athletics program that has
won the Directors’ Cup for 16 consecutive years. Our teams have also won 99
NCAA championships as of this year; by
the time you read this column, I hope
we will be celebrating our 100th.
That is a tremendous achievement,
and as the Cardinal’s No. 1 fan, I have celebrated every win and bemoaned a few
tough losses. But at Stanford, we measure
success in academic achievements and the
character of our students, as well as in win-loss records. We have a strong scholar-athlete
tradition for a reason: We attract bright young
minds and we give them opportunities to
excel at both academics and athletics. But it
takes tremendous discipline to do so, and in
this column I pay tribute to them—to their
greatness on and o; the field.
y vc c s i r n a i n o l at ;
After the excitement of the Orange Bowl, Stanford quarter-
back and Heisman Trophy runner-up Andrew Luck, ’ 12, was
expected to be the top pick in the NFL draft. Andrew thought dif-
ferently. He decided to finish his degree in architectural design.
He is not alone in appreciating his educational opportunities.
Fullback and middle linebacker Owen Marecic, ’ 11, who received
the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in college
football, is a human biology major who hopes to be a doctor.
Despite training schedules that
require many hours a week,
these students take on demanding
academic coursework and
excel, graduating at similar
rates as other students.
these students take on
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