Professional Division

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Save the Date for the evening Virtual Ceremony!

The 18th Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup, an award given to the most outstanding role models among athletes, has announced the honorees for its 2023 award ceremony, to be held April 27^th in a virtual ceremony. Leading the night’s honorees will be the Professional Division recipients Nancy Lieberman and Joakim Noah. Nationally selected Collegiate and High School athletes will also be awarded for their commitment to athletics, academics, and citizenship.
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Nancy “Lady Magic” Lieberman is a true pioneer in women’s sports. She was recognized as one of the top 40 female athletes of the last 40 years by both ESPN and Sports Illustrated. Her extensive resume includes being the second woman in history to coach in the NBA, becoming the Assistant Coach for the Sacramento Kings in 2015. Lieberman has been a WNBA player and coach, a BIG3 Head Coach, a WNBA general manager, president of the Women’s Sports Foundation, a sports broadcaster for ABC, NBC, ESPN, and FOX Sports Southwest, a motivational speaker, and an author. In addition, she is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, and the Hampton Roads Hall of Fame. She is also a BIG3 Champion, two-time Olympian as the youngest male or female basketball playing Silver Medalist at age 18, three-time All American, two-time collegiate national champion, and a two-time National Player of the Year at Old Dominion University. The Nancy Lieberman Award is given to the most outstanding female point guard in NCAA Division I Basketball.

Guiding youngsters and helping the disadvantaged has always been a passion for Lieberman, and through this philosophy, The Nancy Lieberman Charities was born. Education and wellness is at the heart of the many programs that the Charities provide, including educational college scholarships, basketball camps and clinics, Laptops, Back-2-School Backpacks, plus building Dream Courts across the nation which currently number 84 courts serving over 3.6 million children.

In addition to Lieberman’s impressive charity work, Lieberman has supported and participated in numerous national charities throughout the country. Lieberman sits on the Board of Governors for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and The NBA Retired Players Association. She also served on the 2013 NCAA Final Four Organizing Committee in Dallas, and on the 2014 Super Bowl Steering Committee in New York.

Joakim Noah played 13 years in the NBA (nine with the Chicago Bulls). He was a two-time NBA All-Star (2013/2014), 2014 All-NBA 1st team Center, and 2014 Defensive Player of the Year. He was the 2015 winner of the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.

In 2010, along with his mother, the artist Cecilia Rodhe, Joakim started the Noah’s Arc Foundation, which aims to give youth a stronger sense of self using art and sports as tools for development. Noah’s Arc has worked extensively with youth in Chicago, as well as Joakim’s father Yannick’s hometown of Yaounde, Cameroon. The foundation continues to operate in Chicago and in West Africa to this day.

Joakim officially retired from the NBA in 2021 and was named a Community Ambassador for the Chicago Bulls, partnering with the organization to effect positive change in the city of Chicago. In 2021, Joakim was one of a select group of NBA Legends who invested in NBA Africa, a group that will conduct the league’s business throughout the continent and aims to grow the sport of basketball in Africa on all levels.

In 2022, Joakim was named an Ambassador for the Basketball Africa League, highlighting his vision and commitment to the African diaspora on a global level.

The 18th Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup, an award given to the most outstanding role models among athletes, has announced the collegiate honorees for its 2023 award ceremony to be held April 27th at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.  They join Professional recipients Nancy Lieberman and Joakim Noah, plus Abby Hughes and Cody Hagen from the national high school ranks.
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Congratulations to the College student-athletes and their school communities who have been named College Finalists for the 2023 Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup! The announcement of the one male and one female College Cup recipients will be made during the first week of January, 2023.  Planning will then commence for the April 27, 2023 evening ceremony at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
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The 17th Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup, an award given to the most outstanding role models among athletes, announced the Professional, Collegiate, and High School honorees for its 2022 ceremony held April 28^th at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.  Special thanks go out to our patrons and sponsors.  The free photo gallery for the evening can be found at www.dstork.com.
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Sports Illustrated for Women magazine named Jackie the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century. Jackie dominated the track and field circuit for 16 years and won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals spanning four Olympic Games. In addition, she won a total of four gold medals at three different World Championships. Jackie received the Jesse Owens Award in both 1986 and 1987. She still holds the world record in the heptathlon (7291 points) and is the American record holder in both the heptathlon and long jump (24-7). On December 3, 2004, she was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame. Jackie attended college at UCLA and starred in both track & field and women’s basketball from 1980-to-1985, eventually playing professional basketball.

The inaugural recipient of the Humanitarian Athlete of the Year, Joyner-Kersee is known worldwide for her interest in aiding others. She has helped to build the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation in her hometown of East St. Louis, IL that has raised more than $12 million.

In 2007, Jackie along with several notable athletes including 2010 Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup recipient Mia Hamm, founded Athletes for Hope, a charitable organization of professional athletes who get involved in charitable causes and inspire millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support their community. Jackie has recently embarked upon a nationwide effort to enhance the comprehensive health of our nation’s communities through the promotion of healthy lifestyles.  She has been asked by the United States Department of Agriculture to promote My Plate, the replacement for the food pyramid.

Jackie was selected as the recipient of the 2011 Dick Enberg Award.  The Award is presented annually to a person whose actions and commitment have furthered the meaning and reach of the Academic All-America® Teams Program, promoting the values of education and athletics.

Jackie is the author of both A Kind of Grace (1997), her autobiography, and A Woman’s Place is Everywhere (1994). She is married to famed track and field coach Bobby Kersee.

Jay Harris joined ESPN in February 2003, and is most often seen as anchor of the Saturday and Sunday morning, and Monday noon editions of SportsCenter. Harris’ journalism career spans more than 30 award-winning years in television and radio news.
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Ticketing, sponsorships, and live auction open now!

The 17th Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup, an award given to the most outstanding role models among athletes, has announced the honorees for its 2022 award ceremony, to be held April 28th at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Leading the night’s honorees will be Jackie Joyner-Kersee, whom Sports Illustrated for Women magazine named the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century. Nationally selected collegiate and high school athletes will also be awarded for their commitment to athletics, academics, and citizenship. Festivities include a buffet, self-guided tour of the Hall, and a silent auction.
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