Danny Ainge, Dr. Regina Cavanaugh Murphy, Cris Collinsworth And Mark Kelso Named as Finalists For GTE Academic All-America Hall Of Fame(R)

IRVING, Texas - Danny Ainge, Dr. Regina Cavanaugh Murphy, Cris Collinsworth and Mark Kelso are among a group of 28 finalists for induction into the 2000 GTE Academic All-America Hall of Fame. The five finalists who will make up this year's induction class will be announced later this month.

GTE, in cooperation with the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), established the Hall of Fame in 1988 to honor former college student-athletes who have excelled in their professions and made substantial contributions to their communities. To be eligible, a candidate had to be an Academic All-America Team member who graduated at least 10 years ago with a minimum overall GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale.

The finalists were chosen from a group of more than 100 nominees and were selected by a 90-member voting board representing the 1,800 CoSIDA members. Dick Enberg, CBS Sports commentator and spokesman for the GTE Academic All-America program, will serve as master of ceremonies of this year's 13th annual induction. There are currently 58 Hall of Fame members (a complete list of this year's finalists is attached).

Ainge (Brigham Young University/1992) set numerous Western Athletic Conference scoring records before embarking on a standout NBA career, where he won NBA titles with the Celtics in 1984 and 1986. He recently retired as head coach of the Phoenix Suns and is currently a TV analyst for NBA games on TNT.

Cavanaugh Murphy (Rice '87) was a nine-time All-American in the shot put and still ranks among the top six women shot putters of all time. She earned a graduate degree from the University of Texas-Houston medical school and is one of the Houston area's most prominent child psychiatrists.

Collinsworth (Florida '81) was a three-time all-conference receiver who played nine years in the NFL with the Bengals. He is now a broadcaster for Fox Sports and HBO.

Kelso (William & Mary '85) still holds the school career record with 20 interceptions and played eight years in the NFL with the Bills. He is an elementary school teacher in East Aurora, N.Y.

Other finalists include: Rick Cerone (Seton Hall '76), a former college baseball all-American and major league catcher who owns the Newark Bears minor league baseball team; Megan Donnelly (Massachusetts '86), a former field hockey all-American working as a bank executive in Atlanta; Dr. James Martin (Penn State '89), an NCAA wrestling champion now working as an orthopedic surgeon in State College, Pa.; and Pablo Morales (Stanford '87), a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming now serving as head women's swimming coach at San Jose State.

The Academic All-America program was established by CoSIDA in 1952 to honor student-athletes who excel in the classroom and on the athletic field. GTE has been the exclusive sponsor of the program since 1985. Each year more than 700 student-athletes are selected to men's and women's teams at the University (Division IA-IAA) and College (Division II-III) levels in all sports.

With 1999 revenues of more than $25 billion, GTE is a leading telecommunications provider with one of the industry's broadest arrays of products and services. In the United States, GTE provides local service in 28 states and wireless service in 18 states, as well as nationwide long-distance, directory, and internetworking services ranging from dial-up Internet access for residential and small-business consumers to Web-based applications for Fortune 500 companies. Outside the United States, the company serves customers on five continents. Additional information about GTE Corp. can be found on the Internet at http://www.gte.com .

2000 GTE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA HALL OF FAME FINALISTS

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