— Arthur Ashe Jr.

Ashe died from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1993 after contracting the disease from a blood transfusion following double-bypass surgery. But before his untimely death at the age of 49, Ashe already had an impressive academic, athletic, social and civil rights résumé.

He graduated first in his class in high school and earned a full scholarship to UCLA. As a student-athlete, Ashe won the NCAA’s singles title in 1965 and contributed to UCLA’s winning the NCAA tennis team championship. He was truly a pioneer in tennis, becoming the first Black man to win the U.S. Open, the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He would receive numerous awards — inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame, named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year; awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and having the stadium where the U.S. Open finals are played named in his honor.

In addition to tennis, he was very committed to education (see the quote above) and many social causes, not least of which was raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and inadequate health care for the poor.

He earned the respect and admiration of millions while he was alive as well as posthumously, which is why the publishers of Diverse established the award in his name. Over the last several years, the magazine has recognized thousands of student-athletes who excel academically and athletically. However, each year we choose two — a female and male athlete that best embody the spirit of Ashe through their academic excellence, athletic accomplishments and humanitarianism. Momei Qu, a tennis player from the University of Illinois, and Marcus Dixon, a football player from Hampton University, are the 2008 Arthur Ashe Sports Scholars of the Year.