NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION

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.
Ron Johnson, a former Michigan Wolverines football All-American and member of the College Football Hall of Fame, serves as the current chairman, 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 comprised of 119 local chapters distributed among 46 states. Since 1956, more than 100,000 volunteers have become members.

Contents

National Football Foundation Gold Medal Winners

Distinguished American Award

References

External links

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

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

References

1. NFF Announces Inaugural National Honor Society

External links

★ National Football Foundation web site

★ College Football Hall of Fame web site