FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University will honor four athletics associates at the Clevenger Award Dinner on Friday, Nov. 1, in the Henke Hall of Champions.
Jack Fife, BS’62, and Luis Niño de Rivera, BS’69, will be recognized with the Z.G. Clevenger Award. This award is presented to living I-Men who, as alumni, have made outstanding contributions to IU through service to its athletics program.
Additionally, the I-Association will present the Honorary “I” to Norman E. “Ned” Pfau Jr., BS’65, and John M. “Spider” Miller, BS’78. The Honorary “I” is bestowed on inspirational individuals who may not have participated in intercollegiate sports, yet have shown exceptional commitment and dedication to IU, the I Association, and the IU Athletics program.
Following are summaries of the award recipients:
Jack Fife
From 1958 to 1961, Fife was a pulling guard and inside linebacker for the Hoosiers, winning a letter in 1961. After graduation from the Kelley School of Business, he served as first lieutenant in the U.S. Army while working as head coach for the high school football team at Fort Riley, Kansas.
Fife is a former chairman of the Multiple Listing Services of realtors, and a three-time recipient of the Indianapolis Monthly magazine’s 5-Star Real Estate Award. He was twice appointed by the governor to the Indiana Auctioneer Commission. He is a member of the IU Presidents Circle, and is a Leader in IU's 1820 Society.
Luis Niño de Rivera
An accomplished IU diver under the tutelage of legendary coach Hobie Billingsley from 1965 to 1969, Niño de Rivera was co-captain of the team that won IU’s first NCAA championship. He also won the individual U.S. National Diving Championship in 1967. He represented his home country of Mexico in the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Games and the 1967 and 1971 Pan American Games. In addition to his diving achievements, he was the first president of the IU Latin American Student Association.
After graduating from the Kelley School of Business, Niño de Rivera went on to a successful 40-year career in banking and finance, holding high-level positions in a number of key Latin American banks. He is currently president of Banco Azteca and president of the Asociación de Bancos de México.
Norman E. “Ned” Pfau Jr.
One of the greatest success stories from Southern Indiana, Pfau is a fourth-generation CEO of Geo. Pfau’s Sons Company, Inc.—a world leader in processing and manufacturing of specialty fats and oils used for non-food purposes. Since graduating in 1965 with a finance degree from the Kelley School of Business, he has supported IU and its athletics program, including a recent gift that enabled the restoration of the IU Championship Golf Course, now named the Pfau Course at Indiana University.
Pfau serves on the Board of Directors for the IU Foundation and IU Varsity Club. He has been honored several times for his generosity to Indiana University, having received the Presidents Circle Laurel Pin and the IU Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award.
John M. “Spider” Miller
Miller is an accomplished golfer whose love for the game and for IU was instrumental in the restoration of the IU Championship Golf Course. Miller is a member of the Indiana Golf Hall of Fame, having twice won the U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion, twice been captain of the U.S. Walker Cup team, and twice played in the Masters Tournament.
Professionally, he is known as a 40-year owner and president of Best Beers, Inc., a Bloomington, Ind., beverage distribution company. He is a former director for Union Bank & Trust, and for Indiana Bank and Trust. He was named a Sagamore of the Wabash in 1997, and is a member of the Presidents Circle at IU.
The I Association is made up of letter-winning IU alumni and is one of only two athletic alumni associations in the country managed by its alumni association. The IU Alumni Association is a global organization that brings more than 690,000 living IU graduates together to support one another and Indiana University throughout their lives.