WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari has been named as the recipient of the United States Sports Academy's Eagle Award 2019. He will receive the Eagle Award at the Academy's graduation ceremony on Thursday, 11 June 2020.
The Eagle Award is the Academy's highest international honour. The recipient of this award must have "tempered strength with keen judgment in using authority wisely as a means of bringing nations together through sport for the betterment of mankind."
President Fraccari received the award because of his "significant contributions to the growth of baseball and softball and his efforts to get both sports into the Olympics."
"It is a tremendous honour to receive this award and feature among the many important people that have received before me," the WBSC President said. "I look forward to visiting the campus later this year and meeting the students and the leaders of the United States Sports Academy."
The Eagle Award was first presented in 1985 to Korean Olympic Committee President Chong Ha-Kim. Other distinguished recipients of the annual award include Mexico Olympic Committee President Mario Vazquez-Rana (1986), IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch (1992 & 1998), Pele (1994), HSH IOC Member Prince Albert of Monaco (1996), NBA Commissioner David Stern (2008), President of the Jordan Olympic Committee and Advocate for Peace HRH Feisal bin Al Hussein (2014) and WADA President Sir Craig Reedie (2016).
The United States Sports Academy (USSA) was founded in 1972 by Dr Thomas P. Rosandich in direct response to the ever-increasing needs and demands in sport and society in America. It is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sports university. The Academy, whose campus is in Daphne, Alabama, awards the bachelor, master and doctoral degree. The vision of the USSA is to be the leading sports education institution preparing students from all backgrounds to careers in the sports industry.
