PRINCETON, N.J. -- Former Brown soccer standout Darren Eales is one of six former student-athletes selected recipients of the 2020 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in recognition of their collegiate and professional achievements. 

Eales is the 28th Ivy League student-athlete to receive a Silver Anniversary Award and the seventh in the past 10 years. The Silver Anniversary Award annually recognizes distinguished individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their college athletics careers. Representatives of NCAA member schools and conferences, along with a panel of former student-athletes, select each year's recipients.

Eales - the 1994 Ivy League Player of the Year - was one of the most dominant strikers to have played men’s soccer at Brown. In his three-year career he recorded 83 points (31g, 21a), good for the school record for consecutive games with a point. Eales was a three-time First Team All-Ivy selection and was First Team Academic All-American and Academic All-American of the Year in 1995. 
 
In 1994, Eales led the Bears to its first Ivy League title in 18 years. Brown’s season finished with an NCAA tournament berth and a run to the quarterfinals, beating UNH in the first round and then upsetting number one ranked Boston University in the second round, with Eales scoring twice in the contest.
 
The economics major played professional soccer in the U.S. for several years. He earned a master's degree in law at Cambridge University in 2000 and practiced for six years as a barrister in England before moving on to executive positions in professional sports. He joined West Bromwich Albion Football Club as in-house counsel, director and club secretary. He then became executive director at the Premier League's Tottenham Hotspur.
 
In 2014, Eales accepted the position as president of Atlanta United. The MLS expansion team launched in 2017 and has since broken multiple attendance and on-field records, as well as winning its first MLS Cup in 2018. It is now ranked in the top 10 soccer clubs globally in average attendance. Eales established giving back to the community as a core pillar for the franchise. The Atlanta United Foundation has given more than $2 million to local youth soccer organizations to date. Eales was closely involved in the successful North American bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and was twice named MLS Executive of the Year, as well as Best Executive at the World Football Summit in 2019.
 
The NCAA will recognize Eales and the other recipients at the Honors Celebration during the 2020 NCAA Convention on Jan. 22 in Anaheim, California.

The 2020 Silver Anniversary Award Recipients:
Carla Ainsworth, Kenyon (swimming)
Stewart Cink, Georgia Tech (men's golf) 
Darren Eales, Brown (men’s soccer)
Rebecca Lobo, UConn (women’s basketball)
Jenny Thompson, Stanford (swimming)
Adam Vinatieri, South Dakota State (football).