USA Diving to Honor Texas with 2020 Collegiate Impact Award

USA Diving has announced it will honor the University of Texas as the winner of its 2020 USA Diving Collegiate Impact Award, which honors the top-contributing school on the 2020 U.S. Olympic Diving Team in Tokyo. As part of the recognition, Chris Plonsky, chief of staff and executive senior associate athletics director at the University of Texas, will be recognized during the Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards that will run in conjunction with the National Football Foundation’s 64th Annual Awards celebration on Dec. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas.
“NCAA programs are invaluable to USA Diving’s success at the international level. We couldn’t do it without the additional resources, training, and competitive opportunities they provide our athletes. The University of Texas is one of the top collegiate programs in the country, and coach Matt Scoggin brings a unique perspective to the team. As an Olympian himself, Matt is able to share his experiences with his athletes and help prepare them for success at the highest level of competition,” said USA Diving President Lee Michaud. “It does not stop there, however.  The principles that create champion athletes also lend to creating champion people.  Not everyone will become an Olympian, but everyone must learn to navigate the challenges they encounter on their own individual journey.  The lessons learned from hours of training teach discipline, character and perseverance.  Today we celebrate and honor an institution devoted to developing champions in and out of the pool.”

At the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, 100 percent of the U.S. Olympic Diving Team had collegiate ties. Texas had three divers representing Team USA in Tokyo, which earned the Longhorns the 2020 USA Diving Collegiate Impact Award.

USA Diving joins seven other National Governing Bodies that will participate in this year’s Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards – a celebration that will honor sport-specific contributors (NGB Collegiate Impact Awards) and overall Team USA contributors (Team USA Collegiate Impact Awards) to the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

More information about the Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards – and about Team USA’s collegiate footprint in Tokyo – can be found online at TeamUSA.org/CollegiateImpact.

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*NOTE: Student-athlete is defined as any individual who is/was a member of a collegiate roster (varsity/club/other) and/or competed in outside competition for a university or college. Student-athletes impacted by transfer circumstances were included in the totals for each institution attended.