Vote Troy Smith As 2006 Academy Athlete of the Year – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 5, 2006
DAPHNE, Alabama – Starting 1 December, sports fans worldwide can vote online for the 2006 United States Sports Academy Athlete of the Year presented by USATODAY.com and MSNBC.com. Last year, the ballot attracted nearly half a million votes from sports fans around the globe.
Votes will be collected online from 1-25 December. The ballot will be located on a website hosted by the Academy and will be available through direct links from USATODAY.com Sports content and the sports pages of MSNBC.com. To submit your vote, please visit www.usatoday.com/sports/front.htm, athleteoftheyear.msnbc.com or www.ussa.edu/aoy/index.asp.
Media outlets and sports organizations are welcomed to link to the online vote. For questions, please contact the Academy Communications Department at (251) 626-3303.
The Academy Athlete of the Year ballot is the culmination of the Academy’s yearlong Athlete of the Month program, which recognizes the accomplishments of men and women in any sport around the globe. The Academy’s Athlete of the Month is selected by an international voting committee comprised of former athletes, media, sports organizations and governing bodies.
The 2006 male ballot includes South Korean speed skater Hyun-Soo Ahn, Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele, Italian soccer star Fabio Cannavaro, Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, American NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, American golfer Phil Mickelson, American swimming star Michael Phelps, Major League Baseball All Star Albert Pujols, Heisman Trophy candidate Troy Smith, American basketball player Dwyane Wade, American golfer Tiger Woods and American football player Vince Young.
This 2006 female ballot includes American basketball player Laura Harper, Belgium tennis player Justine Henin-Hardenne, Canadian speed skater Cindy Klassen, WNBA All Star Lisa Leslie, French swimming star Laure Manaudou, French tennis player Amelie Mauresmo, Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa, American sprinter Sanya Richards, Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova, Russian figure skater Irina Slutskaya. LPGA player Karrie Webb and Chinese gymnast Nan Zhang.
As in years past, the male or female athlete receiving the most votes will be named the Academy’s Athlete of the Year. Past winners include Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, Mia Hamm, Michael Jordan, Annika Sorenstam and Tiger Woods. In addition to the overall winner, a Female Athlete of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year will be named. These two awards will go to the athlete who receives the most votes, outside of the overall winner, in each of the respective categories.
“Opening the vote to a worldwide audience is exciting because we receive feedback from a wide range of sports fans, who will ultimately decide which athlete is best of the best,” Academy President Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich said. “Our partners, USATODAY.com and MSNBC.com, make it possible for this vote to reach fans around the world 24 hours a day.”
Last year, as the leading overall vote-getter in the combined male and female categories, tennis sensation Roger Federer won the 2005 Outstanding Athlete of the Year and was presented his award on center court at the NASDAQ 100 in Miami. IndyCar Rookie of the Year Danica Patrick received the most votes in the women’s category to earn the 2005 Female Athlete of the Year honor. Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, who single-handedly revitalized the greatest race in cycling, won the 2005 Male Athlete of the Year award.
USATODAY.com is an award-winning news and information website that is updated 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Each month, millions of unique monthly visitors access USATODAY.com News, Money, Sports, Life, Technology, Weather and Travel sections, which combine the best of USA TODAY news and information and the latest breaking news with cutting-edge interactive features, information graphics and multimedia functions including audio, video and live webcasts. USATODAY.com is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI). For more information, please visit www.usatoday.com.
MSNBC.com, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is the exclusive online channel for the NBC Universal News family, which includes the Today show, NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, Meet the Press and MSNBC TV. MSNBC.com provides the optimal consumer experience, presenting a diverse range of original content and the best from partners in a rich multi-media environment that includes interactive features and free streaming video, allowing users to access the news and information they want, when they want it, 24 hours a day. Based in Redmond, Wash., MSNBC.com is a joint venture of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and NBC Universal, a division of General Electric (NYSE:GE).
The United States Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and the world with programs in instruction, research and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports.
For more information about the United States Sports Academy, “America’s Sports University,” call 251-626-3303 or visit the Academy’s website www.ussa.edu.
