National Football Foundation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1947 by General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army Black Knights football coach Earl "Red" Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice. Its mission is to promote and develop amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and to cultivate leadership, sportsmanship, enthusiasm for competition, and the drive for academic excellence among America's youth.
In addition to supporting amateur football on the local level, the National Football Foundation also oversees the support, administration, and operation of the College Football Hall of Fame. Among its other programs and initiatives includes the facilitation of the Play It Smart program, which places a trained "academic coach" who turns football teams into learning teams in underserved high schools across the country, and the awarding of the Draddy Trophy presented by HealthSouth Corporation, referred to in many circles as the "Academic Heisman". In spring 2007, the NFF launched the NFF National Honor Society, a recognition program for players who excel both on the field and in the classroom. Inductees must have been a starter in their final collegiate season and have earned a 3.2 cumulative GPA for their undergraduate degree.[1] The Foundation also tabulates and releases the Bowl Championship Series Standings each Fall and hosts an Annual Awards Dinner in December at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
Archie Manning, a former Ole Miss Rebels football All-American and member of the College Football Hall of Fame, serves as the current chairman[2], and Steven J. Hatchell, the former commissioner of the Big 12 Conference and executive director of the FedEx Orange Bowl, serves as its current president. The foundation is has 119 local chapters distributed among 46 states. Since 1956, more than 100,000 volunteers have become members.
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[edit] National Football Foundation Gold Medal Winners
The Gold Medal, the NFF’s highest honor, has been presented to seven U.S. Presidents, four U.S. Generals, three U.S. Admirals, one U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 25 Corporate CEOs and Chairmen.
1958 - Dwight D. Eisenhower
1959 - Douglas MacArthur
1960 - Herbert C. Hoover and Amos Alonzo Stagg
1961 - John F. Kennedy
1962 - Byron "Whizzer" White
1963 - Roger M. Blough
1964 - Donald B. Lourie
1965 - Juan T. Trippe
1966 - Earl H. "Red" Blaik
1967 - Frederick L. Hovde
1968 - Chester J. LaRoche
1969 - Richard M. Nixon
1970 - Thomas J. Hamilton
1971 - Ronald W. Reagan
1972 - Gerald R. Ford
1973 - John Wayne
1974 - Gerald B. Zornow
1975 - David Packard
1976 - Edgar B. Speer
1977 - Louis H. Wilson
1978 - Vincent dePaul Draddy
1979 - William P. Lawrence
1980 - Walter J. Zable
1981 - Justin W. Dart
1982 - Silver Anniversary - All Honored
1983 - Jack Kemp
1984 - John F. McGillicuddy
1985 - William I. Spencer
1986 - William H. Morton
1987 - Charles R. Meyer
1988 - Clinton E. Frank
1989 - Paul Brown
1990 - Thomas H. Moorer
1991 - George H. Bush
1992 - Donald R. Keough
1993 - Norman Schwarzkopf
1994 - Thomas S. Murphy
1995 - Harold Alfond
1996 - Gene Corrigan
1997 - Jackie Robinson
1998 - John H. McConnell
1999 - Keith Jackson
2000 - Fred M. Kirby II
2001 - Billy Joe "Red" McCombs
2002 - George M. Steinbrenner III
2003 - General Tommy R. Franks (Ret.)
2004 - William V. Campbell
2005 - Jon F. Hanson
2006 - Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden
2007 - Pete Dawkins and Roger Staubach
[edit] Distinguished American Award
Presented on special occasions when a truly deserving individual emerges, the award honors someone who has applied the character building attributes learned from amateur sport in their business and personal life, exhibiting superior leadership qualities in education, amateur athletics, business and in the community.<
1966 - William Carpenter
1969 - Archibald MacLeish
1970 - Vince Lombardi
1971 - Dr. Frank Boyden
1972 - Dr. Jerome H. Holland
1973 - (no award)
1974 - Bob Hope
1975 - Rev. Theodore Hesburgh
1976 - James A. Van Fleet
1977 - Rev. Edmund P. Joyce
1978 - (no award)
1979 - John W. Galbreath
1980 - Fred Russell
1981 - David Sonny Werblin
1982 - Silver Anniversary (all honored)
1983 - Leon Hess & Jimmy Stewart
1984 - David Nelson
1985 - Bill Flynn
1986 - John L. Toner
1987 - Ike Sewell
1988 - Joe Rodgers
1989 - Edward “Moose” Krause
1990 - Pete Rozelle
1991 - Joe Paterno
1992 - Wellington Mara
1993 - Dick Kazmaier
1994 - Charles F. Bolden, Jr.
1995 - Tom Osborne
1996 - J. Donald Monan, S.J
1997 - (no award)
1998 - Roy Kramer
1999 - (no award)
2000 - Arthur J. Decio
2001 - Dr. James Frank
2002 - George B. Young
2003 - Dr. Robert C. Khayat
2004 - Robert F. Casciola
2005 - Alan Page
2006 - Pat Tillman
2007 - Rocky Bleier
[edit] MacArthur Trophy
Every year, the National Football Foundation awards the MacArthur Trophy to the NCAA Division I-FBS college football team determined to be the national champion.
[edit] References
- ^ NFF Announces Inaugural National Honor Society. National Football Foundation (2007-04-25). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
- ^ Manning Succeeds Johnson as NFF Chairman
