Congratulations to the Baylor Bears and the Stanford Cardinal

The NYAC Winged Foot Award offers congratulations to Coaches Scott Drew and Tara VanDerveer for guiding their teams to victory in the 2021 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

In taking the men’s title Coach Drew and his Baylor Bears secured the school’s first national title, in the process ending an undefeated run by heavily favored Gonzaga. It was a spectacular conclusion to a captivating tournament with the winners deserving of every accolade.

In the women’s tournament, the Cardinal one point win over Arizona saw Stanford return to the top slot after a 29 year absence. Coach VanDerveer attributed the win to “some special karma.” More likely, it was due to superb guidance and a team imbued with a never-say-die spirit.

In earning the tournament titles and the 2021 Winged Foot Award, Coaches Drew and VanDerveer personify everything for which the Award stands: dedication, passion, commitment and the unfailing belief that those attributes developed on the field of play will serve young athletes well throughout their lives.

About the Winged Foot Award

Established in 1996 by the celebrated New York Athletic Club, in the years since the Winged Foot Award has become synonymous with the spirit of collegiate basketball. Having been presented to some of the most accomplished coaches in NCAA history, the Award recognizes and acknowledges those men and women who guide, motivate and enable scholar athletes to reach the peak of their endeavors, both on and off the field of play.

With the incomparable Billy Packer as perennial host, the annual presentation of the Award takes place in the NYAC’s elegant City House overlooking Central Park South in mid-town Manhattan. Within those confines, a glittering array of coaching and athletic talent gathers each year once the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s tournaments are concluded. To say that the event is celebratory hardly does it justice. As coaches such as Kim Mulkey, Geno Auriemma, Mike Krzyzewski, Jay Wright, Jim Boeheim and Carolyn Peck, to name just a few, will certainly attest, it is an evening that lives in memory.

While the spotlight of the Winged Foot Award shines brightly on the winning coaches, significantly the award also serves an altruistic purpose, with a donation being made in the name of each winning school to the Jimmy V Foundation. In that, the Award seeks not only to celebrate an invariably rousing tournament but also to lend support where it is decidedly needed. It need hardly be said that lending support is the very essence of good coaching.

Each year, the NCAA Division I basketball tournament captures the imagination of sports fans across the USA. It is now a tradition that, having captured the titles, cut down the nets and been doused with champagne, the tournament is not truly over until the Winged Foot Award has been presented to the coaches who have guided their athletes to the pinnacle of their dreams.

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