Central Michigan University honors Dick Enberg
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CBS
Sports’ Dick Enberg will be honored by his alma mater,
Central
Michigan
University,
with the naming and dedication of the ”
Dick
Enberg
Academic
Center” on the campus of
Central
Michigan
University
on Friday, October 12. Along with that honor, CMU has established two scholarships
in Enberg’s name recognizing scholarship, community involvement and athletic
accomplishment.
The
6,000-square-foot academic center includes a computer lab with 31 workstations,
five tutoring rooms, a monitored study room and offices of the academic
advising staff.
“As a
young Michigan high school graduate from a class of 33 who didn’t even know if
he’d go to college, Central Michigan accepted a nobody and provided me with the
tools that allowed me to become a somebody,” said Enberg. “For
that, I am indebted and forever grateful.”
Throughout
the 52 years Enberg has been a broadcaster, he has earned numerous awards and
honors including 14 Emmy Awards, nine Sportscaster of the Year Awards, the
Ronald Reagan Media Award and the Victor Award as the top sportscaster of the
past 40 years. He has been inducted into the National Basketball Hall of
Fame as the Curt Gowdy Award recipient in 1995 and the Pro Football Hall of
Fame as the Pete Rozelle Award recipient in 1999. Enberg became only the
fourth sportscaster to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in
February 1998. In 1973 he became the first American sportscaster to visit
the People’s Republic of
China
(
USA vs.
China basketball in
Beijing).
Enberg, who earned his doctoral degree from
Indiana
University
in 1962, also has been a staunch supporter in combining athletics and academia
through the years. Since 1985 he has served as spokesman for the CoSIDA
Academic All-America program, which recognizes the academic and athletic
achievements of more than 800 student athletes each year. Enberg also serves as
the host of the Academic All-America Hall of Fame ceremony, an annual event
created in 1988 to pay tribute to past Academic All-America team members who
have gone on to make contributions to society.
In 1999,
Indiana
University
established the ”
Dick
Enberg
Distance
Learning
Center”
in the
School of
Health Physical Education and Recreation.
And in 2001, Enberg was instrumental in helping refurbish the gymnasium
in his old high school, Armada High School in Armada, Michigan, where it became
a community recreation center and was named after his family, “The Enberg
Family Recreation Center.”
Prior to
his sportscasting career, Enberg was an assistant professor and assistant
baseball coach at
California
State
University
at Northridge (1961-65). He is currently active in fundraising for education
(
Armada
High
School,
Central
Michigan
University
and
Indiana
University). Enberg was awarded an
honorary doctorate of humane letters from
Indiana
University
in May 2002. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus by both Central
Michigan and
Indiana
University and was
inducted into the Central Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993 and
the Indiana University Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.