July 16, 2008
Orlando, Fla. (www.UCFAthletics.com) - Keith Tribble, UCF's Director of Athletics and Executive Vice President, has been appointed Chairman of the Division I Athletics Directors McLendon Scholarship Steering Committee. Tribble was notified of the two-year appointment by Mike Cleary, the President of The John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation.
"I have had the honor of serving on the McLendon scholarship committee for three years," said Tribble. "During that time, we afforded an opportunity to over two dozen young men and women to earn a graduate degree and move onto a career in collegiate athletics administration. To be selected as this committee's chair is truly an honor."
The Foundation, which named the eighth annual recipients of the John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Awards through the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in December, awards each winner a $10,000 grant to be used towards postgraduate studies in athletics administration. NACDA founded the John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Foundation in 1993.
Tribble's appointment to chair the scholarship steering committee comes on the heels of his appointment to the Board of Directors of the Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA) this past December and to the NCAA's prestigious Division I Management Council in April.
Interest in minority mentorship has long been a standard throughout Tribble's career. He was recently named a 2008 recipient of one of the 100 Black Men of America's Chairman Awards for Sports Leadership.
Before Tribble began his tenure at UCF, the BCA selected Tribble to receive its "Images of Excellence Award," presented to those in the community that demonstrate a commitment by action to serve youth in the community. The award was in recognition of Tribble's force in the advancement of athletics careers for minority candidates as the Chief Executive Officer of the historic Orange Bowl Committee for 13 years. It was near the same time of this award that Tribble was named UCF's ninth Director of Athletics in April 2006.
Tribble was also recognized in 2005 by Black Enterprise on its list of the "50 Most Powerful Blacks in Sports" and was a featured executive in South Florida CEO magazine. Twice in 2003, Sports Illustrated recognized Tribble as one of the most respected figures in the field of collegiate athletics. First, SI named him the 23rd "Most Influential Minority in Sports." Within SI's ranking, Tribble was rated the second-most influential minority figure in the world of collegiate athletics. Next, the magazine added in its 2003 college football review that Tribble was No. 12 among the "20 Most Powerful People" in college football.
The McLendon Foundation Scholarship Awards are presented to senior-level minority students that have maintained a 3.0 grade point average and demonstrated academic excellence as an undergraduate, who intend to pursue a graduate degree in athletics administration. The Division I-A Athletics Directors McLendon Scholarship Ad Hoc Steering Committee consists of the 14 minority athletics directors in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
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