NJCU Legend Bob Delaney `85 to Receive NCAA’s Highest Honor: The Theodore Roosevelt Award

December 17, 2019
Theodore Roosevelt Award

New Jersey City University Hall of Famer Robert J. Delaney  `85, whose remarkable life story as a New Jersey state trooper turned legendary National Basketball Association (NBA) referee transcends sports, is the 2020 recipient of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s highest honor—The Theodore Roosevelt Award—the NCAA announced on December 17.

The “Teddy” is the highest honor the NCAA may confer on an individual. The award, which is given annually to an individual who exemplifies the ideals of college sports, is named after the former president whose concern for the conduct of college athletics led to the formation of the NCAA in 1906. 

Delaney, a 2006 NJCU Hall of Fame inductee in the sport of men’s basketball and baseball, will be recognized Wednesday, January 22, during the NCAA Honors Celebration in Anaheim, California. Delaney is the first recipient ever from a college or university in the state of New Jersey, the 10th from an NCAA Division III institution and only the second from a Division III public school. 

First presented in 1967, past recipients include some of the most well-known Americans of the last 100 years. Most notably, the award has been bestowed upon four United States presidents—Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. Other notable winners of the award include politicians, presidential cabinet members, Olympians, astronauts, sports commissioners and professional head coaches.

Delaney said: “It is an honor, beyond description, to be named the NCAA’s 2020 Teddy Roosevelt Award recipient. No one accomplishes anything by themselves. This award is shared with my college basketball coach Larry Schiner, and NJCU teammates, who taught me about the game of basketball and the game of life, along with my parents, Mary and Bob Delaney, my wife Billie and my entire family, because without their support and direction none of this happens. I have been fortunate to be a team member of New Jersey City University, the New Jersey State Police,  National Basketball Association and the Southeastern Conference. I have had the opportunity to work with the U.S. Military and their families through organizations like TAPS [Tragedy Assistance Programs for Survivors], and everyone shares in this honors because they are all major reasons for this recognition.” 

"It is difficult to find the exact words to express my feelings when I learned I would be the NCAA 2020 Teddy Roosevelt Awardee,” said Delaney. “Humbling and overwhelming are a couple words that come to mind. Reading the names that have received this award over the years—powerful is another word. I understand this award is given to an individual—to me—yet I see it as a recognition for all the student-athletes of my alma mater, New Jersey City University, and a recognition of all Division III student-athletes as well. There is a magic to sports and while games may be powered by numbers—the stats, the trends, the dollars—the real power of sports comes from the people involved. The leadership lessons learned from coaches and teammates and the character-building created through the hard work of athletic directors, coaches, university presidents, chancellors and professors; the games give us life lessons well beyond the wins and losses.”

 In May 2018, Delaney was awarded the university’s Presidential Medallion by NJCU President Sue Henderson during the institution’s commencement ceremony at the Prudential Center and addressed that year’s graduating class.

Henderson, the current Chair of the NCAA Division III President’s Council and Vice-Chair of the NCAA Board of Governors, said:  “We are so proud and honored that NJCU athletics Hall of Famer Bob Delaney is being recognized by the NCAA with its highest honor. Indeed, there is no more deserving recipient of the ‘Teddy’ than Bob, whose contributions to collegiate sport and to society stand as an exemplar for all. We are thrilled to celebrate this pinnacle and well-earned achievement.”

Shawn Tucker, Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics, added: “This honor is a significant milestone in the history of not only NJCU athletics but also the University as a whole. Bob Delaney is the ultimate NJCU success story. The Theodore Roosevelt Award is the most significant honor bestowed by the NCAA and it could not go to a more deserving individual. When you look at the names who have received this award over the last half century, including four United States presidents, it is jaw-dropping. Bob may not be a household name like Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan or John Glenn but the manner in which he has lived his life is the hallmark of great Americans who have previously received this distinction. What he has done as a state trooper, NBA official and ambassador and servant to our military is inspiring. He has forever impacted lives across the country and around the world and is most deserving of this enduring recognition. He has proudly represented NJCU everywhere he has gone and we celebrate this honor alongside him.”

Delaney’s remarkable life story transcends sports—from nearly three years as an undercover state trooper who infiltrated the world of New Jersey organized crime in the mid-1970s to that of an NBA Cares Ambassador who has drawn upon his own experiences with post-traumatic stress (PTS) to inspire United States veterans and active duty service members suffering from the effects of PTS.

Delaney stepped down in Fall 2017 as the NBA’s Vice President, Referee Operations and Director of Officials after a 30-year career with the League. In August 2018, he was appointed Special Advisor for Officiating Development and Performance by the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

In June 2018, Delaney officiated a nationally-televised one-on-one charity basketball game between United States Senator Ted Cruz and comedian Jimmy Kimmel on ABC Television's Jimmy Kimmel Live. 

Delaney added: “Much appreciation to New Jersey City University President Sue Henderson,  Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kroll, and Athletic Director Shawn Tucker and a special thank you to Ira Thor, NJCU Assistant Athletic Director and Sports Information Director, for nominating me for this amazing award. New Jersey City University became part of my life in 1970 and still is decades later. I know the NCAA Teddy Roosevelt Award is offered in recognition for past acts, however I see it also as a reminder for the next chapter—a reminder that we have more to do to make this world a better place."

During the nomination process, Delaney received letters of support for this award from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Commissioner Emeritus David Stern, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, NBA legend Bill Walton, NFL coaching legend and 2013 ‘Teddy’ recipient Tony Dungy, Retired General of the United States Army Martin E. Dempsey— 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 37th Chief of Staff of the Army, Robert B. Brown, retired United States Army general who served as commander of the United States Army Pacific, Bonnie Carroll, the President and Founder of TAPS, John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Barry Mano, President of the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) and Todd Rose, Director of Mind, Brain and Education in the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Over the course of a 24-year distinguished officiating career from 1987-88 through 2010-11, Delaney emerged as one of the NBA’s highest-rated crew chiefs, calling 1,526 regular season and 210 playoff games, including nine NBA Finals and the 1998 and 2011 NBA All-Star Game.

After hanging up his whistle, in 2012 Delaney transitioned to NBA Referee Operations management and later became Vice President, Referee Operations and Director of Officials for three seasons before retiring in November 2017.

Delaney continues to be a long-time NBA Cares Ambassador, promoting the NBA’s partnership with the United States military as part of the League’s mission of addressing important global social issues. Delaney conducts programming and interacts with veterans and active duty service members. He has been embedded with U.S. troops and NATO forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Europe, Canada, and at bases and posts across the United States.

His contributions to PTS awareness and support to military officials and their families have been recognized with honors and proclamations from many, including President Barack Obama and senior-ranking military leaders. Notably, in 2010, President Barack Obama conferred upon Delaney the President’s Volunteer Service Award for his ongoing PTS education and awareness work with the military.

A 2017 nominee for the NCAA’s Theodore Roosevelt Award, he was the 2014 recipient of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Mannie Jackson Human Spirit Award. In 2017, he was recognized by the Tragedy Assistance Programs for Survivors (TAPS) with the National Community Partnership Award for his work with military Gold Star families.

In 2011, in recognition of his assistance in the aftermath of the Fort Hood shootings and his work with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, he received The Meritorious Public Service Medal, formerly known as the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, from the U.S. Army. The citation is the third-highest public service award the Department of the Army can award to a private citizen.

He has published two books: Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob was released in 2008, and Surviving the Shadows: A Journey of Hope into Post-Traumatic Stress followed in 2011.

Additionally, he was presented with the 2003 National Association of Sports Officials Gold Whistle Award and the NBA Officials Community Service Award.

Delaney was a captain of the Gothic Knight men’s basketball team during the 1971-72 season, serving as the sixth man for the 16-8 club under Coach Larry Schiner. He played two seasons at then-Jersey City State College (1970-72), and one year of baseball (1972), before leaving school to enter the New Jersey State Police.

Delaney became a state trooper in 1973 and in 1975 went deep undercover, dropping out of sight as part of an operation known as “Project Alpha,” a three-year investigation designed to fight the influence of a thriving organized crime culture in New Jersey. His essential and courageous covert role ultimately led to the dismantling of organized crime organizations. Delaney testified before the United States Senate hearings on organized crime in 1981.

After living deep undercover, he faced the tremendous challenge of post-traumatic stress. With counseling and determination, Delaney pushed forward, later returning to NJCU to complete his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 1985.

Included among the many other honors he has received in his law enforcement career are the New Jersey State Police Meritorious Service Award for service above and beyond the call of duty, and the Dick Tracy Hall of Fame, an honor for those who enjoyed a distinguished career in law enforcement and then went on to pen notable police-related stories.

Delaney returned to the sport of basketball in the early 1980s as an official and quickly rose through the ranks. He officiated in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for three years (1983-86) before being elevated to the NBA in 1987, when he officially retired as a state trooper.  

Delaney is the founder of two schools that trained officials for high-integrity roles within the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA college basketball. He earned a Master of Arts in Leadership from St. Mary’s College of California in 2010.

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Past Theodore Roosevelt Award Winners (Division III winners highlighted)

 

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