Former NFF National Scholar-Athlete Drew Brees of Purdue claimed MVP honors in last night's Super Bowl XLIV

Hall of Famer Bill Dudley Passes Away

Recognized as one of the greatest players in Virginia football history, “Bullet” Bill Dudley passed away Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 at his home in Lynchburg. Dudley, a 1956 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame and a native of Bluefield, Va., was 88 years old.

Dudley lettered at Virginia from 1939-1941 and capped his incredible career by being named the winner of the Maxwell Trophy in 1941 as the nation’s top player. During his senior campaign, as a 19-year-old halfback, he led the nation in scoring (134 points), touchdowns (18) and all-purpose yards (1675). Voted a consensus All-American, he was the first Cavalier player to earn that distinction. Known as a great runner, passer, kicker and defensive player, he finished fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy that year.

NFF News

Congratulations to 2000 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Drew Brees (Purdue) led the New Orleans Saints to a victory in Super Bowl XLIV. Brees was also named the game’s MVP.

NFF chairman Archie Manning was a guest on CBS’ Super Bowl Today pregame show.

1985 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Leland Melvin (Richmond) helped carry the commemorative coin for Super Bowl XLIV into space as an astronaut on the STS-129 shuttle mission. The coin, which was flown in space during the November flight of Atlantis, was used for the official coin toss prior to yesterday’s Super Bowl.

College Football Hall of Fame members Emmitt Smith (Florida), Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), John Randle (Texas A&M-Kingsville), and Floyd Little (Syracuse) joined fellow All-Pro standouts Russ Grimm (Pittsburgh), Rickey Jackson (Pittsburgh) and Dick LeBeau (Ohio State) as the latest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Their inductions will be on Aug. 7 in Canton, Ohio.

2009 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Tim Hiller (Western Michigan) will accept the Wuerffel Trophy on Feb. 19 at the 41st Annual All Sports Awards Dinner in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

2009 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Reed Williams (West Virginia) has been named Big East Conference Football Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Chapter News

Upcoming NFF chapter events include the Columbus (Ohio) Chapter Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet tonight; the Morris County (N.J.) Chapter Sports Nut Night on Thursday, Feb. 11; and the Colorado Chapter Scholar-Athlete Banquet on Monday, Feb. 15.


TWO-MINUTE DRILL

Scheduling

The Boise State-Virginia Tech scheduled for Oct. 2 at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., has been moved to Labor Day, Sept. 6, for a primetime telecast on a network to be determined…Arizona State added Portland State to its 2010 schedule… Utah has moved its 2010 season opener to Thursday, Sept. 2, in Salt Lake City in primetime against Pittsburgh and has switched the Iowa State game to Oct. 9 in Ames, Iowa… Toledo will host Arizona on Friday, Sept. 3, in an ESPN national telecast.

Business

Justin Wilcox was selected as defensive coordinator at Tennessee… Purdue named Gary Emanuel co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach… Three-time NAIA championship head coach Kalen DeBoer (Sioux Falls) was named offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois… Kevin Weiberg was named deputy commissioner and COO of the Pac-10 Conference… Eddy Peach, the only head football coach at Arlington (Texas) Lamar HS since the school’s founding in 1970 and seventh-winningest coach in Texas high school annals (309 victories), announced his retirement.

Awards and Honors

Ohio State’s 2010 Rose Bowl presented by Citi championship squad was honored last week during halftime of the OSU-Penn State men’s basketball game… The new Southwest Conference Legendary wing of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco officially opened last Saturday with College Hall of Famers Grant Teaff, Jim Ray Smith and other area sports officials on hand for the ribbon cutting… Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone was named honorary chair of the 16th Annual White Ribbon Campaign, which raises awareness and funds to stop domestic and sexual violence… Retired NFL head coach Tony Dungy will speak at UTEP’s April sports banquet… Steve Cotton of Marshall football play-by-play fame has been chosen as 2009 West Virginia Sportscaster of the Year.

Miscellaneous

The Texas squad defeated the national standouts in the fourth annual Texas vs. The Nation College All-Star Game last Saturday. Approximately 26,000 attended the game in El Paso… Texas football and allied marketing agencies shipped its leftover 2010 logoed BCS title T-shirts and caps, which are printed for both teams prior to the BCS championship, to areas of Haiti affected by the January earthquake… Miami (Ohio) held RedHawk Recruiting Live which featured six full hours of free live recruiting announcements and appearances on MURedHawks.com's all-access channel, giving fans an inside look at NLI Day… Idaho State held its grand opening for the Jared Allen Athletics Strength and Conditioning Center… The Big Ten Conference and Big Ten Network are celebrating Black History Month in February with a series of features on such football greats as NFF College Hall of Famers J.C. Caroline of Illinois, Don Coleman of Michigan State, Curt Warner of Penn State, and Bobby Bell of Minnesota… The Mtn. and Mountain West Conference have produced a 30-minute special The Mtn. Celebrates Black History Month with special guests including New Mexico head coach Mike Locksley and former UNLV head coach Wayne Nunnely.

Obituaries

Walter Fondren, 73, starting quarterback for College Hall of Fame coach Darrell Royal’s 1957 Texas team, passed away… Larry Bortstein, 67, who covered Pacific-10 Conference football and several bowls for Los Angeles-area newspapers and USA Today, died in Arcadia, Calif.


NFF Information

Advertising in NFF publications will put your organization in front of key decision makers in football including coaches, players, former players, as well as NFL and college football administrators throughout the year. To inquire about the print advertising opportunities available to your organization, please contact Bret Krift with IMG College at 859-226- 4406 or bret.krift@imgworld.com.

If you are a former NFF National Scholar-Athlete (collegiate) and would like to become a member of the National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association, please contact NFF Director of Special Projects Hillary Jeffries at 800-486-1865 or via email at hjeffries@footballfoundation.com.

To become an NFF member, please contact NFF Director of Membership Ron Dilatush at 800-486-1865 or via email at rdilatush@footballfoundation.com. Worldwide membership now is at 12,000-plus in 119 chapters.

Become a fan of the National Football Foundation on Facebook - Upload your game day photos, check out pictures of the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, and chat with other college football fans.

For more information on the NFF and college football, including announcements from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and NCAA Football, please visit www.footballfoundation.com.

Sign up for "This Week in NCAA Football" at ncaafootball.com.

For more information on the NFF and college football, including announcements from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and NCAA Football, please visit www.footballfoundation.com.