The medal's obverse bears figure of nude, lighlty covered young man facing left, standing with one foot on rock, one arm holding cloth behind his back, bent over book held in other hand; small Pegasus in exergue. At left, MENS / FER- / VIDA IN / CORPORE / LACERT- / OSO · ; signed and dated at right, (RTM monogram) / 1916
The reverse bears wreath decorated with coats of arms of participating universities. In center field on banner, To / SHELDON J MANN / FOR SCHOLARSHIP / AND ATHLETIC / PROWESS; (ICAA logo of interlocking letters)
The Intercollegiate Athletic Association grew out of the National Football Conference, acknowledging that there was a need to counter the rising commercialization and brutality of intercollegiate sports. In 1905 alone there were 18 deaths and over 100 major injuries in collegiate football matches. In 1905 a vote of the National Conference authorized the formation of a new national group and on March 31st, 1906, a constitution and by-laws were approved with sixty-two colleges as founding members. Its mission was to formulate rules that would apply to intercollegiate athletic competition in all sports. In 1910 the ICAA was renamed the NCAA.
The medal was awarded to Sheldon Jenks Mann (1896-1968), a student of dentistry at Ohio State University. He was also a member of the dental honor fraternity Omicron Kappa Upsilon.
The Latin phrase translates roughly to "a passionate mind in a well-trained body" and is a variation of the more common "mens sana in corpore sano" or "a healthy mind in a healthy body," which was regarded as a mere recommendation for hygiene and did not seem to capture the fighting spirit of athletic competition enough.
The circular medal measures 76.4mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported but it was only awarded for nine years, so there should not be too many.
References: MACo 1916-008