DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University athletic department has announced Bulldog legend Dolph Pulliam as the 2013 recipient of the Donald V. Adams Spirit of Drake Award.

Pulliam will be presented with the award at halftime of Saturday's Drake vs. Southern Illinois men's basketball game. The contest starts at 7:05 p.m. and will be Pulliam's final home game on the Drake radio broadcast prior to his planned retirement in the spring after 24 years of service to Drake. He will also participate in the annual Alumni Game with his former teammates and other Drake greats at 5 p.m. and the first 1,000 fans in the Knapp Center starting at 6 p.m. will receive a commemorative Dolph Pulliam t-shirt.

The prestigious honor, given annually by Drake athletics, recognizes those best exemplifying the Spirit of Drake University by embracing the principles of a student-centered learning environment while actively and consciously serving as a mentor, role model, advisor and teacher. The recipient recognizes that Drake students are the top priority, fosters an environment of life-long learning, an appreciation for humankind and the development of Drake students to fulfill their goals for personal growth, career aspirations and citizen responsibilities. Since its inception in 2000, we have presented this award to 15 members of the Drake family.

In addition to his duties on the Drake men's basketball radio crew,  Pulliam is the university's director of community outreach and development. He began his professional career at Drake in 1989 by taking on the role of marketing and promotions director for athletics before eventually transitioning to his current position.

Through his work, Pulliam has hosted and produced the Beautiful Bulldog Contest, a Drake Relays tradition that gains annual international media attention, for 19 years. He also developed or led a number of community outreach initiatives, including Halloween Hoops, the Holiday Food Basket program, Drake's United Way fundraising campaign and the Holiday Wish program. He is also heavily involved with several community organizations, including the Drake Neighborhood Association, Character Counts, the Prairie Meadows grant committee and Boy Scouts of America.

Maintaining his ties to Drake basketball, Pulliam was the radio voice for the team's games from 1969–1993. He then returned to the radio airwaves in 2002 to once again provide color commentary during Drake men's basketball games.

Pulliam's first mark made on the Drake community came as a member of the men's basketball team. As one of the greatest athletes to ever don a Bulldogs jersey, he attended Drake from 1965–1969 and was part of the 1969 men's basketball team that finished third in the NCAA championship tournament in the program's only Final Four appearance. The team's near-upset of the UCLA Bruins is still considered one of the greatest games in NCAA Tournament history.

Upon graduation, Pulliam spurned offers to play professionally and remained in Des Moines to become the first African American radio and television news broadcaster in Iowa.