Maryland Honored with NCAA Silver Anniversary Award
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Legendary Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Russell Maryland was recognized by the NCAA today along with five other former student-athletes with the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award for his collegiate and professional achievements.
The Silver Anniversary Award annually recognizes distinguished individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their college athletics careers. Representatives of NCAA member schools and conferences, along with a panel of former student-athletes, select each year’s recipients.
Joining Maryland as 2016 recipients are Abby Cheng, Chris Howard, Joé Juneau, Dikembe Mutombo, and Steve Smith. The NCAA will recognize the honorees at the Honors Celebration during the 2016 NCAA Convention on Jan. 15 in San Antonio.
Maryland earned the recognition following a memorable collegiate career where he led the Hurricanes to a 44-4 record during his career. He helped the team set the NCAA record for consecutive home football victories at 58. The two-time national champion was named the defensive Most Valuable Player in the 1991 Cotton Bowl, where he had nine tackles and three sacks in a 46-3 victory over the University of Texas at Austin.
Following the year, was selected as a consensus All-American and became the first Miami player to win the Outland Trophy, which goes to the best interior lineman in college football.
In the spring of 1991, Maryland became the first pick of the NFL Draft and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys.
He went on to play 10 seasons in the NFL, including five with the Cowboys, who won three Super Bowls during that time. He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1993, and over the course of his career, he recorded 375 tackles, 24.5 sacks, nine forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, one interception and one touchdown.
He retired from the NFL in 2001 and continued work on the Russell Maryland Foundation through 2004, providing educational resources and recreational enrichment, free football camps and clinics, and scholarships to Chicago area youth.
Since 2010, Maryland has been a member of the Cotton Bowl Board of Directors. He also became a spokesperson and member of the board of directors for the C5 Youth Foundation of Texas.
He recently worked as an assistant director of player engagement for the Cleveland Browns, providing professional and personal development resources for players and their families, before working with the Dallas Cowboys at their 2015 training camp.
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