Former Lopes basketball standout, current Chicago Bears president was 1986 Academic All-American
By: Josh Hauser
ORLANDO, Fla. — Grand Canyon men's basketball alumnus Kevin Warren was inducted into the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Hall of Fame on Tuesday, a prestigious honor reserved for individuals who were named Academic All-Americans during their collegiate athletic careers, have achieved career success professionally and are committed to philanthropic causes.
Warren scored over 1,100 points in his two-year Lopes career, which spanned 1984 to 1986. HE was named a second-team Academic All-American in 1986.
The Tempe native went on to hold several front-office positions in the NFL, including stints with the St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. Warren became the President and CEO of the Chicago Bears in March.
Warren paused his career as an NFL executive to become the commissioner of the Big Ten Conference from 2019 to 2023. He was busy during his stay, helping the conference navigate the pandemic, sign a lucrative new media rights deal and expand with two new members.
The induction ceremony took place at a luncheon during the College Sports Communicators Convention in Orlando. Warren was presented with the award by GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs and Associate Athletic Director for Communications Josh Hauser.
Warren was inducted alongside Andrew Cain, a standout Rose-Hulman baseball pitcher who commanded a nuclear submarine, Lindsay Whalen, a highly decorated Minnesota basketball player and coach, and Rick Miller, a standout Bentley soccer player-turned executive and senior business advisor. Legendary Tennessee basketball standout Tamika Catchings was also presented with the Dick Enberg Award during the ceremony.
photo by Jeff Hodges
"The CSC Academic All-America Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is an outstanding reminder of why the Academic All-America awards program is vitally important to college sports," CSC Executive Director Erik Christianson said. "Student-athletes who excel in athletics and academics go on to lead extraordinary lives of achievement and community service beyond their college playing days. Andrew Cain, Rick Miller, Kevin Warren and Lindsay Whalen are former Academic All-Americans who through the life-changing impact of college sports have positively impacted the lives of countless others."
In an event emceed by ESPN's Holly Rowe, Warren spoke on the determination to push through a serious car accident at age 11 that immobilized him for a full year. Informed that full rehabilitation was improbable, Warren was told that swim therapy was his best chance at returning to full health. Devoid of an accessible pool in his community, Warren used his accident insurance settlement money to install a pool in his family's backyard and work toward recovery.
Warren's experience created his mindset of taking "full advantage of the 1,440," the number of minutes in a day. Warren also credited his faith in helping him press on and reach his career's heights.
After graduating from Marcos de Niza High School, he started his collegiate athletics career at Penn before returning home to Grand Canyon for two more years of basketball. Warren was inducted into the GCU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Of around 40,000 all-time student-athletes to receive Academic All-America honors — including most recently GCU baseball's own Homer Bush Jr. — only 170 have been inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame.
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Warren scored over 1,100 points in his two-year Lopes career, which spanned 1984 to 1986. HE was named a second-team Academic All-American in 1986.
