DETROIT (2/5/2023) -- The University of Detroit Mercy Department of Athletics presented the Honorable William Giovan' 58 with this year's John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award.
The award was presented to the former All-American fencer during halftime of the Detroit Mercy men's basketball game against Purdue Fort Wayne with members of the Conti family on hand to present it.
The John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award was established by Anheuser-Busch to honor its long-time employee upon his induction into the Titan Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. Conti was the captain of the 1949 Detroit football team that won the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. At 6-foot-1 and 300 pounds, he was an Honorable Mention All-American and the biggest man in college football. His spirit and charitable enthusiasm have always seemed to be even larger. In tribute to that spirit, the John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award is presented to former Titan varsity athletes who go above and beyond at work and in the community.
"William Giovan is a great Titan who was an All-Amercian student-athlete and has served his whole life in the field of law and justice for all," said Robert C. Vowels, Jr., Director of Athletics.
Giovan is a retired chief judge of the Wayne County Circuit Court who served as a mediator, arbitrator, special master, and visiting judge in civil disputes. He served on the Circuit Court for 33 years from 1976 through 2008, after having served on both the Recorder's Court of Detroit and the Detroit Common Pleas Court. In 1999 the MSC appointed him as chair of its Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence, whose work resulted in several significant amendments to the rules of evidence. Judge Giovan has lectured extensively to the bench and bar on matters of evidence and civil procedure to groups such as the National Judicial College, the American Academy of Judicial Education, ICLE, and the Michigan Judicial Institute.
He earned All-American status in 1958 in the Sabre as the Titans finished 10th in the NCAA Championships. He graduated from the University with a degree in Political Science, Philosophy, and Psychology.
John Conti Award Winners Since 2009
2023 - William Giovan
2022 - Lori Caloia
2020 - Katie Rohrhoff
2019 – Tom Ryan
2018 – Abby McCollum
2017 – 1976-77 MBB Team
2016 – Terry Duerod
2015 – Jermaine Jackson
2014 – Earl Cureton
2013 – Reggie Hall
2012 – Tyrone Simmons
2011 – Bob Miller
2010 – Dennis Flynn
2009 – Bob Kovall
