LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Senior running back Hameen Ali (Dover, Del.) from the College of William & Mary is the recipient of the 2000 Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award. The award, which recognizes the accomplishments of college footballs most inspirational student-athlete, will be presented Thursday, Dec. 7 as part of ESPN's live national television broadcast {starting at 9:00 p.m.) of The Home Depot 2000 College Football Awards at the Atlantic Dance Hall at Walt Disney World Resort.
Ali has overcome a variety of obstacles throughout his young life, including an adolescence spent in group and foster homes. Despite many challenges and virtually no parental support, Ali earned a football scholarship to Division I-AA William & Mary and finished his collegiate career in November as the eighth-best rusher in school history with 2,217 career yards. Ray Wallace, general manager of Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, will present the award to Ali, who will be joined in Orlando by William & Mary Head Coach Jimmye Laycock.

"With guidance from teachers, coaches, friends and others around him, Ali has displayed amazing courage and been an inspiration his entire life," said Reggie Williams, vice president of Disney Sports Attractions. "Ali's triumphs in the classroom, on the field, and most importantly in life, prove that people can achieve success despite even the most difficult circumstances. I can't think of a more deserving recipient for this years Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award."

Ali was born in a fatherless home in Harrisburg, Pa. When he was four years-old, he moved with his mother, Beverly Stevens, and two sisters to Marylands Eastern Shore, where they lived with a boyfriend of his mother on a farmhouse that had no running water. When Ali was 11, they moved five miles down the road to a low-income housing project with plumbing, but the electricity was turned off when the bills went unpaid. Alis mother and her boyfriend worked often, leaving Ali unattended for long stretches.

Without supervision, and living in a neighborhood where drug and alcohol abuse was rampant, Ali went from a quiet kid who did well in school to a youngster who was on the verge of real trouble. He began skipping school, picking fights and selling drugs. Alis mother's friend went to jail on a drug charge and the electricity was turned off, forcing Ali to live with relatives in Delaware and sometimes in a car. Despite all the challenges Ali had experienced, the most difficult situation he would encounter was yet to come. It would change his life forever.

One night, a boyfriend of Alis mother became enraged when Alis sister accidentally knocked over a television. The boyfriend pushed the young girl, so Ali jumped to defend her. When the boyfriend came after him, Ali burst out the front door and never looked back.

Finding safety at a stranger's house, Ali was soon placed in an emergency shelter. After one month there and a short period in two different foster homes, Ali eventually ended up in the Elizabeth Murphey School in Dover, a privately-endowed, non-profit group home complex for neglected and dependent children. During the six years he spent at the Murphey School, Ali received everything he ever needed food, clothing, guidance, hope and love.

During this time, Carl Fennell, an eighth-grade history teacher at Central Middle School, saw something in Ali and decided to challenge him. Fennell promised to enroll Ali in advanced college prep courses if Ali improved his grades. Both lived up to the bargain. Ali began to flourish in the classroom as an Honor Roll student and in sports as an all-state running back and a state champion sprinter at Dover High School. Aside from their agreement, Fennell also welcomed Ali into his family, which already included three sons.

In addition to the Fennells, many others have formed a special bond with Ali. Marty and Brenda Garrett, the parents of Ali's best friend Andy Kosak, also welcomed him into their home with open arms. As much as they have done for him, the Garretts are even more thankful for the love Ali has shown to their daughter Arlissa, who has Down syndrome.

Since earning a football scholarship to William & Mary, Ali has continued to overcome difficult and varied obstacles. He learned from a U.S. Marshal that his father is a convicted drug felon and fugitive. He remains estranged from his mother and sisters, and he hardly gets to see his three-year-old son back in Delaware, whom he adores and remains determined to support. He has overcome injuries and disappointments on the football field. He has worked to maintain his grades at one of the most academically challenging colleges in the country. And, he has struggled to fit into social surroundings that do not at all reflect where and how he was raised. Most people would buckle under such pressures. He has bounced back every time from such challenges with a passion and spirit that continues to inspire those around him.

The Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award is presented annually to college football's most inspirational individual (or team), who has displayed an undying love for the game, while overcoming some type of adversity either on or off the field.

Hameen Ali becomes the fifth recipient of the Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award, joining past honorees Daniel Huffman (1996), Dwight Collins (1997), Matt Hartl (1998), and East Carolina University (1999). Huffman, a high school player in Rossville, Ill., sacrificed a promising football career to donate one of his kidneys to his ailing grandmother. Collins, a native of Lake Charles, La., overcame his loss of hearing to meningitis at 11 months of age to compete and earn a Division I scholarship to the University of Central Florida as a running back. Hartl, from Denver, Colo., battled Hodgkins disease throughout his college career as a fullback at Northwestern University, before succumbing to the illness in August 1999. The East Carolina football team overcame the flooding and devastation that affected the entire Eastern North Carolina community during Hurricane Floyd.


Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award Recipients
Date Recipient School (Hometown)
1996 Daniel Huffman Rossville High School (Rossville, Ill.)
1997 Dwight Collins Central Florida University (Lake Charles, La.)
1998 Matt Hartl Northwestern University (Denver, Colo)
1999 East Carolina University* East Carolina University (Greenville, NC)
2000 Hameen Ali College of William & Mary (Dover, Del.)
* presented to the entire team