"This is another outstanding Academic All-America® Hall of Fame class,” said Nick Joos of Baylor University, the 2008-09 CoSIDA President. "These individuals excelled as student-athletes on their respective campuses and have continued to achieve at high levels in their chosen professions. These individuals are truly the best of the best, and CoSIDA is proud to recognize the outstanding academic and athletic achievements of student-athletes around the nation.”

A two-time Academic All-America® selection, Clark, who is originally from Cedarville, Ohio, graduated from MVNU in 1987 with a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. The chapter president of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society, he graduated with a 3.84 GPA. During his three-year college basketball career for the Cougars, he scored 1,192 points and ranks 24th on the Cougars’ career scoring list. As a senior, he was named to the Mid-Ohio Conference First Team after averaging 17.8 points per game. An outstanding long-range shooter, he shot 50.4 per cent from three-point range to set a school record that still stands. He set that record in the first year that the three-point shot became an official rule.

An All-MOC Honorable Mention pick as a sophomore and junior, Clark was also named to the NAIA District 22 Team. Selected as an Academic All-America® performer in 1986 and 1987, he was named as the winner of the Emil S. Liston Award in 1986 as the NAIA’s top junior basketball player in terms of athletic achievement, academic success, and leadership. For his career, he averaged 15.3 points and ranks among the Cougars’ all-time leaders in steals, assists and free throw percentage.

"To me, this is the highest honor that I could receive,” said Clark, who currently resides in Tucson, Ariz. with his family. "It ties together my time at MVNU as an Academic All-American with my career accomplishments and service to the church and community after college.”

"I was just amazed when I got a call from (program spokesman and NBC sports legend) Dick Enberg telling me I had been elected to the Hall of Fame,” Clark continued. "It’s not something a person sets out to do. I have simply tried to serve the Lord by working hard, serving in my local church, and coaching when I had the time and opportunity.”

"Ironically, when I transferred to MVNU (from Otterbein College), I was just looking to be given a chance to play college basketball along with getting a good computer science education,” concluded Clark, who was inducted into the Cougar Wall of Fame in 2003. "It could not have worked out better for me. I am very grateful for the opportunities I had at MVNU and how they prepared me for life after college.”

In 1994, Clark earned a master’s degree in Computer Science from Portland State University and graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Since earning his master’s degree, he has enjoyed a remarkable career with IBM. Currently, the Chief Architect for Storage Software at IBM, he was appointed as an IBM Distinguished Engineer in 2002.

The owner of four U.S. patents with eight others pending, Clark is a technical executive leading the architecture and design of IBM’s storage software products, including the areas of backup/restore, storage management and data archive. At IBM, the hardware and software division is a multi-billion dollar business. From 1991 to 2001, he was an executive at Informix, which was purchased by IBM.

Clark has also been very active in his community, serving as a volunteer basketball coach for Open Door Christian Academy and Pusch Ridge Christian Academy. He also took mission trips to the Philippines with Athletes for Christ team in 1985 and 1987.

The five inductees join 103 previous inductees since the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame inducted its first Hall of Fame class in 1988. They were inducted into the Hall of Fame at CoSIDA’s annual workshop in San Antonio, Texas, along with 14-year NBA veteran Steve Smith, who was this year's Dick Enberg Award recipient.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame was established in 1988 to honor former college student-athletes who have excelled in their professions and made substantial contributions to their community. To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a candidate must have been an Academic All-America® team member who graduated at least 10 years prior to nomination.

The complete induction ceremony is available below with Clark being the first inductee: