Eunice Kennedy Shriver understood the power that athletics has to transform lives and uplift spirits. As founder of the Special Olympics, Shriver gave opportunity to individuals that (until her advocacy) had largely been ignored.

"I was convinced that with training and practice they could run a race, throw a ball, swim and play team sports," she told the NCAA News in 2002, the same year she was awarded the NCAA's Theodore Roosevelt Award "This would allow them to feel, for the first time in their lives, how liberating and empowering it is to train and to learn, to strive to test one's skills, and to achieve one's personal best.

"Above all, I hoped that the families and neighbors of persons with mental retardation could see what these athletes could accomplish, to take pride in their efforts and to rejoice in their victories," she said.

Although many will mourn her death at age 88, she has left behind a legacy of conviction that will be carried out by those who continue to work for opportunity and fair treatment. But, perhaps her biggest legacy can be found in the many lives that she helped change.

"Thank you so much," Karleigh Jones wrote on a tribute page found on the Special Olympics Web site. "Because of you people like me are seen as valued not as incapable."

The NCAA often works with Special Olympics athletes during championships and other events. At this year's Women's Final Four, the NCAA offered a clinic for Special Olympic athletes through our Youth Education through Sports (YES) program.

I had the opportunity to interact with these athletes and it was incredibly inspiring to see their love for basketball and the tremendous pleasure they derived simply from playing the game.

Few people are courageous enough to stand up for what they believe is right. Eunice Kennedy Shriver not only stood firm in her convictions, she used them to alter the course for generations of very special people.