University of Georgia Athletics
Payne, Kowal, Shealy Chosen For Circle Of Honor
September 05, 2011 | Swimming & Diving
Sept. 5, 2011
ATHENS, Ga. --- Football player Billy Payne and swimmers Kristy Kowal and Courtney Shealy — all of whom not only starred at Georgia but also made a significant impact on the international stage — have been chosen for induction in Georgia’s Circle of Honor.
Payne, Kowal and Shealy will be recognized at the Georgia-South Carolina football game on Saturday, Sept. 10. They will be inducted into the Circle of Honor on Friday, April 13, 2012.
The Circle of Honor is designed to recognize and pay tribute to extraordinary student-athletes and coaches who by their performance and conduct have brought honor to the university and themselves, and who by their actions have contributed to the tradition of the Georgia Bulldogs. The criteria also stipulate that each recipient has earned his or her academic degree.
Born in Athens while his father Porter was an All-SEC lineman for the Bulldogs, Payne lettered three years for Georgia at tight end and defensive end. He led the team in receptions as a sophomore before moving to defensive end where he became an All-SEC and All-America performer. He played on two SEC championship teams (1966 and 1968). Payne was honored with postgraduate scholarships from the NCAA and the National Football Foundation. He holds degrees in Political Science and Law from Georgia.
In 1988, Payne was named president and CEO of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. He launched a successful bid to bring the 1996 Games to Atlanta and continued his leadership role by becoming the first person in modern history to land an Olympic bid and remain as president and CEO through the Games themselves.
Since 2006, Payne has served as the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, the home of the Masters.
Payne has received such lifetime achievement honors as the NCAA’s Theodore Roosevelt Award and the NFF’s Distinguished American Award. He has been inducted into the State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and twice has been named Georgian of the Year.
Kowal, a native of Reading, Pa., was an eight-time NCAA champion for the Lady Bulldogs. She won the 100 and 200 breaststroke in 1998, 1999 and 2000, and she added the 200 individual medley title and was on the winning 400 medley relay in 2000. Kowal claimed 16 SEC titles, including four-year sweeps of the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. She still holds the school records in the breaststroke events.
Kowal was chosen as the NCAA Woman of the Year and received the Top VIII Award for her accomplishments in the pool, in the classroom and in the community. She earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and was named to the College Swim Coaches Association of America’s All-Academic Team.
Kowal represented the United States several times in international competition. In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, she picked up a silver medal for her efforts in the 200 breaststroke.
Kowal graduated with a degree in Education and she currently is a teacher in Pennsylvania.
Shealy, a native of Columbia, S.C., was named the NCAA and the SEC Female Swimmer of the Year in 2000. She captured national titles in the 50 freestyle, the 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke. Shealy won NCAA crowns as a member of the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays. She finished with 19 SEC titles, including four in the 100 freestyle and three in the 100 backstroke.
Shealy also was a three-year letterwinner for Georgia’s volleyball team, earning Most Valuable Player honors in 1998. She became the first NCAA Division I female student-athlete to compete in two sports on the same day, accomplishing that feat three times.
Shealy competed around the world in international meets, highlighted by her selection for Team USA in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. There, Shealy earned gold medals on the 400 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
Shealy graduated with a degree in Sports Studies and Communications and later added a master’s degree in Sports Management. She currently serves as the head swimming and diving coach at Georgia Tech.
Behind Kowal and Shealy, the Lady Bulldogs won national championships in 1999 and 2000 – the first two titles in school history.