June 27, 2002

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Headed by former University of North Carolina NCAA champion swimmer Sue Walsh, five outstanding former college student-athletes who have attained prominence in a variety of professions will be inducted Thursday night into the Verizon Academic All-America Hall of Fame® at ceremonies in New York City at the Hilton New York.

This year's inductees are:

Sue Walsh (University of North Carolina, class of 1984), an 11-time national collegiate swimming champion currently overseeing fundraising efforts for UNC's Educational Foundation.

Dr. Richard Balzhiser (University of Michigan, class of 1955), a standout football player who worked for two U.S. presidents and became one of the nation's leading environmental engineers.

Susan Cassidy (Molloy College, class of 1986), a three-year starter in softball who is currently a captain in the New York City Police Department, the youngest person ever named to that position.

John Stockton (Gonzaga University, class of 1984), an 18-year veteran of the NBA's Utah Jazz who is the league's all-time leader in assists and steals.

To be eligible, a candidate had to be an Academic All-America team member who graduated at least 10 years ago. The 2002 inductees were selected from a group of 150 individuals who were nominated by members of CoSIDA. There are now 73 members of the Hall of Fame, including this year's class.

In addition, Governor Raymond Shafer will be named an honorary member into the Hall of Fame. Shafer (Allegheny College, class of 1938) was a 9-time letterman in three sports who went on to become governor of Pennsylvania. Honorary inductees are eligible candidates who competed prior to the establishment of the Academic All-America program in their respective sport.

A native of Hamburg, N.Y., Walsh graduated Phi Beta Kappa from North Carolina in 1984 with a 3.80 GPA in business administration. The two-time Academic All-America is one of the elite swimmers in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference. During her four years in Chapel Hill, Walsh won 10 national collegiate individual titles and one relay crown, was named ACC swimmer of the year three times and led the Tar Heels to four straight conference championships and an overall dual meet record of 36-2. In 1984 she won the Patterson Medal, given annually to UNC's outstanding senior athlete. After spending five years as an auditor for accounting firm Ernst & Whinney, Walsh, a CPA, returned to Chapel Hill and her college roots in 1989. She has spent the past 13 years working for the UNC Educational Foundation first as director of operations and now as vice president for endowment, where she oversees fundraising efforts in 10 different chapters within the state of North Carolina and coordinates the staff's efforts to secure additional endowed scholarships as well as put in place a variety of deferred gifts such as charitable trusts. She also spent time as a guest lecturer at the UNC business school and worked for four years as a volunteer assistant coach with the men's and women's swimming teams. Walsh spends many hours in the community, including doing extensive volunteer work for the St. Thomas More School, where she also takes on a fundraising role in addition to assisting with recess supervision, field trips and lunch preparations. She can be found on the pool deck teaching the youngest Tar Heels how to swim and has also helped coach her son's little league baseball team. She has also worked for the North Carolina Special Olympics and the North Carolina Governor's Council on Physical Fitness. Walsh resides in Durham, N.C. with her three children.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Verizon Academic All-America program, which was founded by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in 1952 to recognize collegiate student-athletes for their outstanding achievements in the classroom and on the playing field. Over the past 50 years, the Verizon Academic All-America program has grown into one of the most recognized and prestigious collegiate scholar-athlete awards nationwide, honoring student-athletes from all NCAA championship sports. Several members of the inaugural Academic All-America football team from 1952 will be attending and will be honored during the ceremony.

CBS sportscaster and Verizon Academic All-America Hall of Fame member Dick Enberg will be the host for the 15th annual event. The theme of the program is "Great Expectations: A Journey of Excellence."

"All of this year's inductees are tremendous role models," said Enberg. "The class of 2002 will help elevate the level of excellence established by the previous group of former student-athletes who make the Hall of Fame induction such a prestigious honor."

"This group of former student-athletes perfectly represents the types of individuals the founders had in mind when the Hall of Fame was created. The members of CoSIDA are proud to play a part in this tremendous program," said Pete Moore, president of CoSIDA.

Under an agreement with CoSIDA, GTE, now Verizon, has been the exclusive sponsor of the Academic All-America program since 1985. Verizon, America's literacy champion, strongly believes that literacy is a key ingredient to success and outstanding achievements in life. The Academic All-America program is part of Verizon Reads, the company's national campaign to promote literacy through corporate philanthropy, partner collaboration, community outreach, and customer and employee participation. "Literacy is a fundamental skill," said Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg. "By virtue of their achievements after college, as well as in athletics, during college, the 2002 inductees into the Verizon Academic All-America Hall of Fame are an inspiration to us all that literacy leading to academic achievement is essential for a well-rounded, successful and fulfilling life."