Dick Knight, the man many credit with saving Brighton and Hove Albion, was speaking after receiving an honorary Master of Arts from the 91系列 at the Brighton Dome today.
He said: "Albion in the Community doesn't make the news in the same way as Wayne Rooney's next transfer does but believe me, when you see a severely disabled teenager having the confidence to make a presentation in a huge room of business people, that is something worth shouting about – and that is what we do at Albion in the Community."
Mr Knight, former club chairman and now Life President, was chairman until June this year. He was a key driver in turning AITC into one of the leading community schemes in English football.
He said founding AITC was his way of giving something back to the community and to "improve people's lives through the power of sport". He said last year almost 53,000 people benefited from AITC projects.
Dick Knight, after receiving his honorary Master of Arts
Professor Squires said AITC was one of the largest projects of its kind with 170 staff and 1,000 volunteers, working on four continents with 47 projects in fields including health, education, nutrition, tackling obesity and anti-racism, crime prevention, sports participation, mental health and skills development. Mr Knight was presented with his award for his major contribution to harnessing the power of sport for community benefit by Professor Peter Squires, the university's professor of criminology, and an Albion season ticket holder.
He said: "AITC won the national award for best football community scheme four years running to 2010 and it is said the only reason it didn't win in 2011 and 2012 was because the football authorities wanted to encourage other clubs to do more.
"Dick believes clubs should be engaging the power of the sport to interest people, to work with them and to help improve their lives and opportunities."
Read more about other honorary graduates this week.