RGVSPORTS.COM
The Tom Landry Award of Excellence will be introduced at the All-Valley Awards Sports Banquet at 6 p.m. on June 14 at DoubleTree Suites in McAllen.
The award was initiated to honor the legacy of the former Dallas Cowboys coaching great. Landry, who died Feb. 12, 2000 at the age of 75, was a Mission native who embodied the principles of integrity, sportsmanship, character and teamwork to which all student-athletes should aspire.
“We are extremely grateful to the Landry family for allowing us to honor Coach Landry’s legacy by naming our most prestigious sports award the Tom Landry Award of Excellence,” said Stephan Wingert, Regional Vice President and Publisher of The Monitor. “The recipient might not be the most gifted athlete in the Valley, but will certainly represent the principles for which Coach Landry is still known.”
Landry coached the Cowboys from 1960-1988 and holds the franchise record for career wins (250). Landry took the Cowboys to five Super Bowls, winning two.
The Tom Landry Award of Excellence will recognize a local student-athlete for accomplishments on and off the field. The criteria for the nomination include, but are not limited to, those whose high school career has demonstrated:
>> Community involvement
>> High character
>> Sportsmanship
>> Academic Excellence (3.5 GPA required for nomination)
>> Selflessness
Rio Grande Valley high school athletic directors will choose the nominations for the award. All athletic directors are encouraged to email Marcia Kitten at [email protected] for the nominations form. Nominations are encouraged to be submitted by June 3.
The three publishers of AIM Media’s Valley newspapers —Wingert (The Monitor), Frank Escobedo (Brownsville Herald) and Lilia Castillo Jones (Valley Morning Star) — will choose a winner from the nominations, along with Mid-Valley Town Crier general manager John Greider.