STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford University will be inducted into the Team USA Collegiate Impact Award Class of 2020, as announced today by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. The induction recognizes the top-performing schools represented on Team USA at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Stanford is one of four schools to be inducted into the inaugural class, which will be honored during the Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards next week as part of the National Football Foundation's 64th Annual Awards celebration on Dec. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas. As part of the celebration, Stanford will also receive an impact award for its contribution to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Water Polo Team.
Stanford received the organization's Olympic Gold Award, totaling more Team USA selections (35) than any other school, featuring 19 U.S. medalists across 12 dual-gendered sports.
Boasting a school-record 57 Olympians (36 female, 21 male) with Cardinal ties overall, Stanford captured 26 medals (10 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze) at the 2020 Olympic Games. Stanford's 57 Olympians represented 16 countries across 22 varsity sports. Included among Stanford's contingent were 41 former student-athletes, 12 current student-athletes and four other affiliates with institutional ties. Stanford also featured 10 additional participants, including three national team head coaches.
"The collegiate athletics system is essential to growing and keeping sport strong in our country," said USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland. "Athletes who competed collegiately were the foundation of Team USA's success in Tokyo and Beijing. We're excited to honor the leaders who foster these sport opportunities and support student-athletes on campus."
Meanwhile, Stanford was also honored with the 2020 USA Water Polo Collegiate Impact Award, which recognizes the top-contributing school on the 2020 U.S. Olympic Water Polo Team in Tokyo. At the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, 100% of the U.S. Olympic Water Polo Team competed collegiately. Nine U.S. Olympians competed at Stanford – more than any other school – highlighted by Aria Fischer, Makenzie Fischer, Jamie Neushul, Melissa Seidemann and Maggie Steffens helping secure gold for the women's team. Alex Bowen, Ben Hallock, Drew Holland and Dylan Woodhead represented the men's team in Tokyo.
"Stanford and Bernard Muir have been leading contributors to the Olympic movement, placing more athletes on our last two Olympic water polo teams than any other university in the nation," said Christopher Ramsey, CEO of USA Water Polo. "Olympic sport equals leadership, and Stanford recognizes that combining sport and higher education is America's secret sauce for high performance in life as well as sport. We are proud to celebrate their role in developing our country's next generation of leaders."