The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) inducted former Gator diver Dr. Megan Neyer (1982-86) into the Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Fame yesterday evening in Marco Island, Fla. Dr. Neyer is the fourth Gator, and second member of the Women's Swimming & Diving team to receive the honor. She joins former teammate and Olympic gold medalist swimmer Tracy Caulkins (1981-84) along with All-American football players Carlos Alvarez (1969-71) and Chris Collinsworth (1977-80).
Currently the winningest diver in the history of the Southeastern Conference and NCAA Championships, Dr. Neyer is tied for fourth in school history with eight NCAA titles. She is responsible for sweeping her respective events, one-meter and three-meter diving, each of her four years as a student-athlete at the University of Florida. Her eight NCAA titles are the most by a diver in school history, while the eight-time All-American still owns the school record on the three-meter boards (11 dives), tallying a score of 541.95 in 1982. That same year, Dr. Neyer helped lead the Gators to their first-ever NCAA title in women's swimming.
Internationally, Dr. Neyer is a World Springboard Champion and 15-time U.S. Diving National Champion with seven titles on the three-meter board and eight on the one-meter. The 1981 and 1982 World Diver of the Year, she was also the 1980 United States Olympic Trials Champion on both the three-meter springboard and 10-meter platform.
In 1986, Dr. Neyer was dubbed the NCAA Diver of the Year. Ten years later, she was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great” and selected as a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2006, Dr. Neyer was dubbed the NCAA's Most Outstanding Diver of the Last Quarter Century.
Graduating from UF as a two-time academic All-American with a degree in psychology, Dr. Neyer was selected as an Outstanding Alumna of the University of Florida in 1997; she is one of only 47 women chosen to represent 85,000 female graduates from the University of Florida.
Away from the pool, she is responsible for the founding of Neyer Performance Strategies, LLC – a company specializing in individual, team and organizational performance with business and athletic teams. Her company helps firms in enhancing performance and productivity, selecting and retaining employees as well as facilitating effective management and leadership development. Additionally, Neyer Performance Strategies, LLC, consults on wellness, ecological health care issues and sustainability. Dr. Neyer also has served on various committees, including the Organization Change Alliance from 2002 to 2008.
On March 28, 2011, Dr. Neyer launched World Fit at St. Thomas More Catholic School – a nation-wide program designed by US Olympians to help put an end to childhood obesity and improve children's health and view of personal fitness. World Fit encourages middle school children to walk or perform some type of exercise for 45 minutes a day, every day, for 40 days.
CoSIDA created the Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1988 with the intention to recognize former college student-athletes who have excelled in their professions and made considerable contributions to society. 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.
