The Silver Anniversary Awards are awarded every year by the American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to recognize six distinguished former student-athletes on their 25th anniversary as college graduates. The Silver Anniversary Awards were first given in 1973, when five distinguished former student-athletes were honored, including Stewart Udall, Donald Mulder, John Hopper, John Ferraro, and Ray Evans. Since 1986, the number of annual honorees has increased to six.