Monday Chalktalk NCAAF News & Notes for August 4
editor1 |Aug 04,2008
|
|
|
www.footballfoundation.com
NFF Launches National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association
Archie Manning, chairman of the National Football Foundation &
College Hall of Fame, Inc. (NFF), announced the inception of the
organization's National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association,
teaming up the nearly 700 college scholar-athletes the
Foundation has honored for the past five decades.
The National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association is the latest
initiative in an aggressive NFF campaign to further promote the
scholar-athlete ideal, offering former honorees the chance to
give back. Established in 1959 with funding provided by NFF
tri-founder Col. Earl "Red" Blaik, the NFF's National
Scholar-Athlete Awards program became the first initiative in
history to credit a player for his combined academic success,
football performance and community leadership. Each year, the
NFF distributes nearly $300,000 to the 15 members of the
National Scholar-Athlete Class. The nation's top scholar-
athlete receives a prestigious $25,000 scholarship and is
awarded the Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth.
The newest members to join include: Derrick Brooks (Florida
State); College Football Hall of Fame nominee Rich Diana (Yale);
Tom Gilmore (Pennsylvania); Thomas Gottwald (Virginia Military
Institute); Patrick Haden (Southern California); Randall Hall
(Alabama); Robert Johnson (Tennessee); Danny Kanell (Florida
State); Jeffrey Lewis (Georgia); Oliver Luck (West Virginia);
1992 College Football Hall of Fame inductee James Lynch (Notre
Dame); Michael Mauck (Tennessee); William Obremskey (Duke); 1980
College Football Hall of Fame inductee Merlin Olsen (Utah
State); Lance Pavlas (Texas A&M); John Sande (Stanford); Willie
Thompson (Morgan State);and Charles Thomson (Indiana).
NFF News
The NFF Chapter Network, spread across 121 outposts in 47
states, distributed nearly $1 million in scholarships during its
Jan.-June banquet season, driving the all-time disbursement
amount to $13 million. Over 3,000 high school student- athletes
from more than 4,800 high schools were honored for both their
academic and gridiron achievements in 2008.
Serving as the pulse of a nationwide effort to encourage
leadership, sportsmanship and academic excellence among young
football players, the chapters collectively stage more than
1,000 events, including coaching clinics, all-star games,
leadership conferences, college nights and more than 100
scholarship banquets each year.
Among those recently reported to have attended chapter banquets
around the country were Sewanee coach Robert Black (Middle
Tennessee Chapter); Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy (Touchdown
Club of Houston Chapter); BYU AD Tom Holmoe (Utah Chapter); BYU
coach Bronco Mendenhall (Utah Chapter); LSU coach Les Miles
(Touchdown Club of Houston Chapter); Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops
(Touchdown Club of Houston Chapter); Houston coach Kevin Sumlin
(Touchdown Club of Houston Chapter); and Utah coach Kyle
Whittingham (Utah Chapter).
Former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr will speak at the College
Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., on Aug. 6 as part of
the 12th annual KeyBank Gridiron Legend Luncheon Series. From
1995-2007, Coach Carr led the Wolverines to a 122-40 record,
five Big Ten Championships and a national championship in 1997.
Two-Minute Drill
Friday, Aug. 29, has been designated as National College Colors
Day, encouraging football fans nationwide to wear their
college's colors all day... Kentucky held its annual Kroger UK
Kickoff Luncheon last Friday in Lexington, and the Wildcats
placed a limited number of single-game tickets on sale for four
of their seven home encounters... South Carolina notched its
eighth consecutive sellout of football season tickets last
week... Utah has passed 27,000 season ticket sales and has
placed limited single-game ducats on sale for '08. The Utes also
will play Notre Dame in 2010... Oregon State will wear newly
designed Nike game jerseys this fall... Texas began the "Texas
Fans Make Us Proud" initiative for 2008-09 to promote
sportsmanship... New Mexico and the New Mexico Bowl hosted NCAA
Football Youth Day, a clinic free to children under 14...
Washington State head coach Paul Wulff (Seattle) and Michigan
State head coach Mark Dantonio (Detroit) recently delivered
ceremonial first pitches at Major League Baseball contests...
Rapper Snoop Dogg joined LSU head coach Les Miles to a recent
Rotary Club meeting... Virginia football player Jared Green gave
the presentation speech for his father Darrell Green, a 2004
College Football Hall of Fame inductee from then- Texas A&I, at
last week's Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canton,
Ohio... The Emerald Bowl hosted the Bay Area College Football
Luncheon/Media Day on July 28, and featured San Jose State's
Dick Tomey, Cal's Jeff Tedford and Stanford's Jim Harbaugh...
The Big Ten and the MAC will combine their instant replay
systems this season.
Tennessee will name its new Letter Winners Center at Neyland
Stadium in honor of 1981 College Football Hall of Fame inductee
TB Hank Lauricella and his wife, Betty. The center will be
called The Lauricella Center for Letter Winners and is scheduled
for completion this month... A Houston architectural group has
been retained to design major upgrades for Lamar's football
facilities as the school resumes grid play... Omar Heins has
bequeathed $1.1 million to New Mexico athletics... Tulane is
coming off its most successful athletics year in total outside
fund raising... Tulsa totaled a school-record $2.43 million in
athletics funds raised for 2007-08.
Florida Atlantic extended the contract of veteran head coach
Howard Schnellenberger through the 2010 season... Dave Hart was
hired by Alabama as its executive director of athletics.
AirTran Airways and Georgia Tech have forged a travel
partnership for 2008 football... Oregon announced a
collaboration with IMG Communications... Louisiana Tech has
signed a 10-year broadcast and marketing agreement with
Learfield Sports.
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) has
honored two of its most- decorated members by naming
scholarships in their honor. The Fred Nuesch-Dave Wohlhueter
Undergraduate Scholarships will be awarded to two students
working in sports information offices at member institutions.
The scholarships were initiated in 1999 as part of a continuing
effort to assist students interested in pursuing a career in
sports information. Nuesch (Texas A&M-Kingsville) and Wohlhueter
(Cornell) are both members of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame... Bruno
Pauletto, Tennessee's first strength coach from 1981-93, was
given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Strength
and Conditioning Association... The John Mackey Award for
college football's top tight end released its preseason watch
list of 30 student-athletes last week... The Wuerffel Trophy
added two directors to it National Selection Committee, ESPN's
Rece Davis and CBS Sports' Spencer Tillman.
John Mark Stallings, son of former Alabama coach Gene Stallings,
died last Saturday. He was 46... Skip Caray, 68, nationally
renowned sportscaster and former color commentator for Missouri
football, died in Atlanta yesterday... Former Washington &
Jefferson (Pa.) AD and football coach Paul Reardon passed away
on July 30... Former Notre Dame defensive line coach Joe Yonto,
83, died this morning in South Bend.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Reminder - All NFF members are eligible to
receive a discount off the Blue Ribbon Football Yearbook. To
order, call 866.805.BALL, provide your membership number and use
"NFF08" as the promo code.
Key NFF Dates
Sep. 1: NFF High School Football Showcase - Irving, Texas
Oct. 19: First Release of 2008 BCS Standings - Irving, Texas
Dec. 9: NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf=Astoria - New York, N.Y.
Jan. 5, 2009: National Hall of Fame Salute at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl -
Glendale, Ariz.
Jan. 9, 2009: Presentation of MacArthur Trophy to BCS champion - Miami, Fla.
2009 BCS Schedule
Jan. 1: Rose Bowl presented by Citi - Pasadena, Calif., ABC
Jan. 1: FedEx Orange Bowl - Miami, Fla., Fox
Jan. 2: Allstate Sugar Bowl - New Orleans, La., Fox
Jan. 5: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Glendale, Ariz., Fox
Jan. 8: FedEx BCS National Championship Game - Miami, Fla., Fox
www.footballfoundation.com
|
|
|
|
Print
E-mail
Del.icio.us
Digg
