Kansas Jayhawks’ Bill Self, South Carolina’s Dawn Staley honored for NCAA titles
Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self accepted the New York Athletic Club’s Winged Foot Award on Tuesday night at a ceremony in New York.
Established in 1996, the Winged Foot Award is presented annually by the NYAC to the winning coaches of the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball championships. KU defeated North Carolina in the 2022 NCAA men’s title game on April 4 in New Orleans.
Dawn Staley of South Carolina on Tuesday night was presented the women’s trophy. South Carolina defeated UConn in the women’s title game on April 3 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
This was the second time Self has received the Winged Foot Award. He received the award in 2008 after the Jayhawks won the NCAA title. Tennessee coach Pat Summit was the women’s head coach recipient that year.
“In earning the 2022 Division I titles and the NYAC Winged Foot Award, coaches Self and Staley personify all for which the award stands: dedication, passion, commitment and the unfailing belief that those attributes developed on the field of play will serve young athletes well throughout their lives,” the New York Athletic Club wrote in a release on its website.
A donation was made in the name of KU and South Carolina by the club to the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research.
KU assistant coach Norm Roberts introduced Self, while former college basketball analyst Billy Packer was the banquet’s emcee. Packer’s final game called for CBS during his long broadcasting career was the 2008 Final Four. KU defeated Memphis in the 2008 title game.
In accepting the award, Self said: “This was basically the perfect team. We struggled to win the last two games to win the league and won a Big 12 Tournament to decide who the best team is (in the Big 12). That was a team that things just fell perfect. We can say this team was destined to win the national championship because there were so many things about it ... it was so special.”
This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 11:25 PM.
