The Flying Wedge Award is one of the NCAA's highest honors. It is awarded to an individual who exemplifies outstanding leadership and service to the NCAA. The flying wedge was used in the early days of American football and became a symbol of the origin of the NCAA in 1906. There is a life-size sculpture of the flying wedge in the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis and a reproduction is awarded as The Flying Wedge Award. Ironically, the flying wedge formation was outlawed in college football in 1894 because it was highly dangerous.
The award is given by the NCAA Leadership Advisory Board of Directors and there have been ten recipients:
Charles Chandler Krulak is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps from July 1, 1995 to June 30, 1999. He is the son of Lieutenant General Victor H. "Brute" Krulak, who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He was the 13th President of Birmingham-Southern College after his stint as a non-executive director of English association football club Aston Villa.
The White House Fellows program is a non-partisan federal fellowship established via executive order by President Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964. The fellowship is one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service, offering exceptional Americans first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the federal government. The fellowship was founded based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Corporation and later the sixth secretary of health, education, and welfare.
Philip Murray Condit is an American engineer and businessman who was Chair and Chief executive officer (CEO) of the Boeing company from 1996 to 2003. He dramatically reshaped the company by its merger with McDonnell Douglas and relocating Boeing's headquarters from Seattle to Chicago. He resigned to take symbolic responsibility for a military procurement scandal, although he was not accused of any ethical breaches.
William R. "Bill" Rhodes is an American banker and philanthropist. Rhodes is President and CEO of William R. Rhodes Global Advisors, LLC which he founded in 2010. Having stepped back from full time responsibilities with Citi after more than 53 years with the institution. He most recently served as senior advisor, senior vice chairman and senior international officer of Citigroup and Chairman, President & CEO of Citibank, N.A. He held various senior executive positions at Citi from 1957 until his retirement from Citigroup on April 30, 2010. Subsequent to his retirement, he continued to serve as a senior advisor to Citi from 2010 through 2017.
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
David Maxwell served as the 12th president of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa from 1999 until 2015. He is the son of jazz trumpeter Jimmy Maxwell.
Michael Fred Adams is president emeritus of the University of Georgia in the U.S. state of Georgia.
Thomas Wade Jones is senior partner of TWJ Capital LLC. Previously he served as chairman and chief executive officer of Citigroup Inc.'s Global Investment Management from 1999 to 2004. He joined Travelers Group as vice chairman in 1997 and served as chairman and chief executive officer of Smith Barney Asset Management until October 1998. Prior to joining Travelers Group, Jones served as vice chairman of TIAA-CREF, the largest pension system in the United States, from 1995 to 1997, president and chief operating officer from 1993 to 1997, and chief financial officer from 1989 to 1993. From 1982 to 1989 Jones served as senior vice president and treasurer of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company.
James Lemuel Holloway III was a United States Navy admiral and naval aviator who was decorated for his actions during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. After the Vietnam War, he was posted to The Pentagon, where he established the Navy's Nuclear Powered Carrier Program. He served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1974 until 1978. After retiring from the Navy, Holloway served as President of the Naval Historical Foundation from 1980–1998 and served another ten years as its chairman until his retirement in 2008 when he became chairman emeritus. He was the author of Aircraft Carriers at War: A Personal Retrospective of Korea, Vietnam, and the Soviet Confrontation published in 2007 by the Naval Institute Press.
Eugenio Gabriel "Gabby" Lopez III is a Filipino-American businessman who was the CEO (1993–2013), chairman (1997–2018) and chairman emeritus (2018–2020) of ABS-CBN Corporation, the largest entertainment and media conglomerate in the Philippines.
James A. Joseph was an American diplomat.
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, often referred to simply as the Knight Commission, is a panel of American academic, athletic and sports leaders, with an eye toward reform of college athletics, particularly in regard to emphasizing academic values and policies that ensure athletic programs operate within the educational missions of their universities.
Archie Wallace Dunham is the former chairman emeritus and former independent non-executive chairman of Chesapeake Energy in Oklahoma City. He served as president and chief executive officer of Conoco Inc. from January 1996 to August 2002, then as chairman of ConocoPhillips, following the merger of Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company, until his retirement on September 30, 2004.
Michael William Wright was an American business executive and Canadian football player. He served as chief executive officer of SuperValu (1981–2001) and as a director of Wells Fargo & Company.
Christopher B. Howard is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Arizona State University Public Enterprise in Tempe, Arizona where he started on February 7, 2022. Previously, he served as the 8th president of Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. He is a former college football running back and former United States Air Force officer.
Rosemarie Greco began her career in the financial services industry as a bank-branch secretary; rising to be one of the highest-ranking woman in banking in the United States. She currently is co-chairwoman of VISION 2020, a national initiative for women's economic and social equality that works with affiliated organizations to advance issues important to women.
Russell W. "Russ" Meyer Jr. is the Chairman Emeritus and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cessna Aircraft Company. He was awarded the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, the Collier Trophy on two separate occasions, and the Meritorious Service Award from the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA). In 2009, he became inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.
Ian M. Cook is a British businessman. He served as the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Colgate-Palmolive.