WASHINGTON – The Small Business Administration will present the agency’s first Hall of Champions award to Under Armour and the sportswear maker’s founder Kevin Plank on Wednesday morning.

Under Armour will approach $5 billion in annual sales this year, but its beginnings were humble. Plank started the company as a student at the University of Maryland College Park with the help of a small SBA loan. He was 23.

Plank, who played footbal for the Terrapins, wanted to find a better way to practice than in sweat-soaked, cotton T-shirts. And in 1996, after researching synthetic fabrics, he designed the first Under Armour HeatGear T-shirt, engineered with moisture-wicking fibers.

Plank began selling the T-shirts out of his grandmother’s Georgetown basement. Under Armour generated $17,000 in revenue its first year.

The company has more than 13,000 employees today.

The SBA’s Hall of Champions honors successful U.S. companies that started with support from the federal agency.

The award will be presented to Plank at Under Armour’s Baltimore headquarters. SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will present the award.