(WXYZ) — Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, the founder and CEO of Folds of Honor and the man behind the new American Dunes Golf Club in West Michigan, was honored with the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award this week.
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The award is given annually to seven athletes on the 25th anniversary of their college careers, and has gone to people like Troy Aikman, Archie Griffin, Jack Nicklaus and more.
Rooney attended the University of Kansas and played golf, winning the 1995 Kansas Invitational and placing sixth in the 1996 NCAA central regional. He finished in fifth place in the 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships.
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“It’s humbling to join the other Silver Anniversary Award recipients and Coach McLendon in being honored by the NCAA,” Rooney said. “I’m thankful for the incredible impact the University of Kansas and the KU golf team has had on my life. I am very blessed to be able to pay forward the gift of an education."
Rooney, who is also a PGA professional and F-16 fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, founded Folds of Honor, which gives scholarships to children and spouses of fallen or disabled service members.
He is the founder of American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, which is expected to open this May.
