Pat Richter | Facebook
Pat Richter | Facebook
Former University of Wisconsin multi-sport athlete Pat Richter has been named the 2021 honoree for the Big Ten’s Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award.
The last Badger to earn nine letters, the Madison-born Richter earned the accolade for achieving success in the areas of leadership and humanitarianism after his collegiate career, according to a conference issued press release.
Wisconsin football and basketball color analyst Mike Lucas compared the former Washington football team player to a certain Hollywood legend.
“There has always been a Clint Eastwood-like stature and demeanor to Pat Richter whose achievements as a multi-talented athlete and multi-dimensional administrator have set him apart,” Lucas tweeted. “He helped put the ‘W’ back in UW athletics. Winning. Making our day (many days and decades over).”
The Wisconsin State Journal reported that Richter is the first Badger to receive the Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award since its inception in 2011.
Richter was an All-American tight end who twice led the Big Ten in receiving and was the country’s receiving yardage leader as a junior.
In his senior year, Richter took home the 1963 Big Ten Medal of Honor, the release said.
Aside from football, Richter, who was Wisconsin’s AD from 1989 to 2004, played baseball and basketball for the Badgers.
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