NFF National Scholar-Athlete Tim Hiller

NFF News



14th Annual KeyBank Gridiron Legends Luncheon Series at The College Football Hall of Fame



The College Football Hall of Fame announced today that Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly will appear as the first speaker in the 2010 KeyBank Gridiron Legends Luncheon Series at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend.

The Hall of Fame's signature event the annual Enshrinement Festival will be on July 16-17 and include two days full of family-friendly activities for football fans of all ages. In the fall, football season at the Hall of Fame will include university team visits, autograph sessions and tailgate events on the Gridiron Plaza.

"We're proud to sponsor the 2010 KeyBank Gridiron Luncheon Series," said KeyBank President Randy Foster. "We value our relationship and affiliation with the College Football Hall of Fame, and are pleased to support this event and an organization that does so much for our community. I could not think of a better speaker than Brian Kelly to kick off this year's series, and I am personally excited to hear what he has to say. I encourage you to bring your clients, friends and family to this lunch and the entire series. I know you will enjoy the experience."

The Hall of Fame is also proud to announce a new partnership with WNDU for the Gridiron Legends Luncheon Series. Sports director Jeff Jeffers, a 30-year veteran sports anchor known as "the dean of local sports" will serve as the emcee for the series.

Luncheons consist of a question and answer session with the featured speaker, a video presentation and lunch.

Returning as media sponsors in 2010 are the South Bend Tribune, WSBT Radio Newstalk AM 960 and Pathfinders Advertising and Marketing. This is the 14th consecutive year KeyBank has sponsored the luncheon series. For more information on the 2010 KeyBank Gridiron Legends Luncheon Series, and to print an order form, visit www.collegefootball.org.

2009 NFF National Scholar-Athletes Tim Hiller (Western Michigan), Colt McCoy (Texas), William V. Campbell Trophy winner Tim Tebow (Florida), Eric Decker (Minnesota) and Jon Asamoah (Illinois) are participating in the NFL Combine.

The following William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalists are also currently participating in the NFL Combine in Indianapolis:

Zane Beadles (Utah), Jeff Byers (USC), Kurtis Gregory (Missouri), Josh Hull (Penn State), Jammie Kirlew (Indiana), Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan), Jeron Mastrud (Kansas State), Devin McCourty (Rutgers), Zoltan Mesko (Michigan), Colin Peek (Alabama) and Ryan Wolfe (UNLV).

The Chick-Fil-A Bowl will be spun off from the Atlanta Sports Council into a new entity headed by Gary Stokan, the bowl’s president and CEO. Stokan will move his attention to the growth of the bowl, the Chick-Fil-A College Football Kickoff Classic and the development of the new College Football Hall of Fame. The independent entity will be under the name Peach Bowl Inc, the founding name of the 42-year old bowl game. Dan Corso, son of ESPN commentator Lee Corso, has been tapped to head the chamber’s sports marketing arm.

1990 William V. Campbell Trophy recipient and current president at Hampden-Sydney (Va.) Dr. Chris Howard (Air Force) was interviewed by Ali Velshi in the CNN Newsroom on Tuesday, February 23.

Chapter News



The NFF Northern California Chapter held its 50th annual awards banquet last week. Former NFL quarterback Bob Lee emceed the event that saw 24 area scholar-athletes each receive a $1,000 scholarship. The scholar-athletes were selected by a committee of educators, high school sports officials and sportswriters in 12 Northern California counties. NFF Director of Membership Ron Dilatush, former Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen, San Jose State head coach Matt MacIntyre and former Navy NFF National Scholar-Athlete and current AT&T president Tim Harden were in attendance at the event.

The NFF Delaware Valley Chapter will be handing out over $35,000 in scholarships at its 47th annual Scholar-Leader-Athlete Dinner on March 16. The chapter will also present its Distinguished American Award to Major General Glenn Rieth, New Jersey’s adjutant general. Steve Timko, executive director of the NJSIAA and dormer athletics director at Hopewell Valley High will receive the Contribution to Amateur Sports award.

The NFF Orange County (Calif.) Chapter will hold its annual Scholar-Athlete dinner tonight at the Anaheim Convention Center. The rosters for the Orange County North-South All-Star football game will be announced at the event which will honor scholar-athletes from area colleges and high schools.

The NFF Walter J. Zable/San Diego Chapter will honor former San Diego State defensive back Nick Sanford at its 39th annual Scholar-Leader Athlete Awards banquet on March 19th.

The NFF Mike Cleary/Northeastern Ohio Chapter named former Cincinnati coach and current Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly its 2010 Lee Tressel Ohio College Coach of the Year, which will be given at the chapter’s annual awards banquet on April 26. NFF board member and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin (Ohio State) will be awarded the Distinguished American Award.

The NFF Miss-Lou Chapter gave out $10,000 worth of scholarships to seven athletes at its 29th annual banquet. Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen was the keynote speaker. Trinity Episcopal (La.) coach David King was awarded the Contribution to Amateur Football Award and Premo Stallone Jr. received the Distinguished American Award.

Former Wyoming and Purdue coach Joe Tiller will be the keynote speaker at the NFF Wyoming Chapter banquet on March 20 in Laramie.

The 50th annual NFF Lehigh Valley Chapter Awards Dinner (Pa.) will take place March 7 at the Northhampton Community Center. Former UCLA and St. Louis Rams Super Bowl-winning coach Dick Vermeil will serve as the guest speaker for the event.

The NFF Minnesota Chapter is holding its 3rd annual “Honoring Legends-Inspiring Leaders” awards banquet on April 18 at the University of St. Thomas. Former Delaware quarterback and NFL MVP Rich Gannon will be the featured speaker.

The NFF Tom Lombardo/St. Louis Chapter will host its quarterly luncheon on March 10. Northwest Missouri State head coach Mel Tjeerdsma will be the guest speaker. Tjeerdsma recently led the Bearcats to the NCAA Div. II national title, claiming the NFF’s Asa S. Bushnell Trophy, presented annually to the Div. II national champion.

The NFF Central Pennsylvania Chapter is hosting its 13th annual awards banquet on March 28 at the Penn Stater in University Park. Rutgers’ coach Greg Schiano will serve as the guest speaker.

Michigan head coach Rich Rodriquez will serve as the guest speaker at the NFF Toledo Chapter Scholar-Athlete awards dinner on March 8.

NFF William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist Arizona State linebacker Mike Nixon will speak on behalf of the scholar-athlete class at next month’s NFF Valley of the Sun Chapter’s 29th Annual Banquet at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort on March 6. Nixon is only the third athlete in the history of the chapter to be named both a high school and college scholar-athlete. Darius Leopaul, a senior at Phoenix Central High, will receive the Martha Shaw Courage Award. Leopaul carried a 3.5 GPA while playing two sports, football and wrestling, all while he lived on his own and worked to support himself. Larry Kentera, long-time defensive coach at Arizona State, head coach at Northern Arizona and the man who brought American football to Serbia, will accept the Pete Altieri Lifetime Achievement Coaching.

The NFF National Capital Region (D.C.) Chapter will be hosting its third annual, Scholar-Athlete Banquet on Sunday, March 21, 2010. The scholar-athlete banquet will be held at the prestigious Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia. Mike London, the new head football coach at Virginia, will be the guest speaker. Five scholar-athletes will be awarded financial scholarships for their excellence in the classroom and on the football field.


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. Visit www.footballfoundation.org to join online.



TWO-MINUTE DRILL





Scheduling



Ohio State will open the 2014 season on the road against Navy at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, home of the NFL’s Ravens... Louisiana Tech and Grambling will open the 2010 season in the inaugural Port City Classic at Independence Stadium in Shreveport.

Business



Frisco, Texas, and the Southland Conference, led by Commissioner Tom Burnett, has been chosen as the hosts for the next three FCS title games at Pizza Hut Park. The championship game will be the culmination of a newly expanded 20-team championship bracket and the first game in Frisco will be played January 7, 2011... Bill Moos has been named the athletics director at Washington State... Dr. Camden Wood Selig is the new athletics director at Old Dominion University... Matt Lubick, son of longtime Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick, has been named the passing game coordinator at Duke... Mike Schultz accepted the offensive coordinator position at Middle Tennessee State... Don Dobes has accepted the defensive coordinator job and Jim Pry accepted the offensive coordinator job at Dartmouth... Ron McCrone accepted the defensive coordinator job at Cornell.

Awards and Honors



A resolution to honor the 2009 Iowa football team was offered by Congressman Dave Loebsack in the U.S. House of Representatives... ACC commissioner John Swofford announced a list of 36 student-athletes who have been selected for the Weaver-James-Corrigan Award including football players Boston College placekicker Steve Aponavicius and NFF Campbell Trophy semifinalist Miami (Fla.) offensive lineman Matthew Pipho. Each recipient will receive $5,000 to contribute to their graduate education. Each recipient has performed with distinction in both the classroom and his/her respective sports, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.

Miscellaneous



Curt Tomasevicz, former Nebraska football player and an Academic All Big-12 honoree, was the brake man on the gold medal winning four-man USA bobsled team... ESPN broadcaster Colin Cowherd donated $50,000 to his alma mater Eastern Washington in support of the school’s plans to install red turf in its football stadium... The Idaho State Board of Education approved plans to move forward with plans for suites, club seating and a new press box at Idaho’s Kibbie Dome... A total of 48,284,673 fans attended games at all 630 NCAA schools during the 2009 season. Home attendance at Division II and III games increased by 55,053 and 32,737, respectively. For the 12th straight year, Michigan lead the way with 108,933 fans per game, followed by Penn State, Ohio State and Texas as the only schools to top the 100,000 mark. The Wolverines have captured the total attendance title 40 times, 34 of those since 1974... CBS College Sports and AT&T announced the launch of the network on AT&T U-verse TV... Missouri has established a complimentary-concession, closest-to-the field football seating plan for this season in a south end-zone bleacher section that MU officials are calling Touchdown Terrace... AECOM will study six different plans involving upgrading Houston’s Robertson Stadium... ESPN360.com is soon to be ESPN3.com, following an announcement from ESPN that the network’s 24-7 website will officially re-launch as ESPN3 on April 4.

Obituaries



Former Baylor football team captain Bobby Ray Taylor died on February 22 at age 92... Former TCU guard Bobby Sherrod, one of the four surviving members of the Horned Frog’s 1938 national championship team, died at age 90... Mosi Tatupu, a fullback on USC’s 1974 national championship team, died last week at age 54... Dean Emeritus of Admissions at Bates College (Maine) and long-time NFF Maine Chapter member Milton Lindholm, died February 27 at age 98. Lindholm played four years of football at Bates and was on the 1932 team that played Yale to a scoreless tie at the Yale Bowl, the first time in the history of Yale football that they did not win their opening game.

Key NFF Dates for 2010



July 16-17, 2010- 2010 Enshrinement Festival, South Bend, Indiana

Tuesday, December 7, 2010- 53rd Annual Awards Dinner, New York City, New York



NFF Information



The NFF is currently accepting nominations for the Hampshire Honor Society; nominations are due no later than February 26. To request nominations forms please contact Hillary Jeffries by email at hjeffries@footballfoundation.com.

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