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Former University of Wisconsin football star and 1999 Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne has been named the recipient of the 2011 Red Smith Award, Red Smith Sports Award Banquet chairman Mike Reese announced Monday.
The honor is given annually to an individual who has contributed or continues to contribute to sports either on or off the field in Wisconsin. The presentation will be made at the 46th annual Red Smith Sports Award Banquet on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton.
Dayne will be joined at the head table by main speaker Greg Gumbel. The Nice Guy Award winner will be announced soon.
The Red Smith Committee has been honored to host 55 hall of fame athletes and sports announcers, representing six major sports (23 baseball, 16 football, 9 basketball, 1 wrestling, 3 motorsports, 3 hockey) along with a 2-time U.S. Open golf champion and Indy 500 champions.
Dayne is the all-time leading rusher in NCAA Division I history, totaling 6,397 yards during his career at Wisconsin that ranged from 1996-99. Dayne was the MVP of the 1996 Copper Bowl, when he rushed for 246 yards in a victory over Utah, and in the 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowls when he had games of 246 yards against UCLA and 200 yards against Stanford. He is the only Big Ten player to win back-to-back Rose Bowl MVPs.
Dayne was the 11th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft by the New York Giants and played for them until 2004. He played with the Denver Broncos in 2005 and wrapped up his eight-year career playing for the Houston Texans in 2006 and 2007.
Information about the banquet and purchasing tickets can be found online at redsmith.org, by calling Joe Ornstein at 920-570-2536 or by e-mail at contact@redsmith.org. Tickets are $60.