National Football Foundation

A tackle for the University of Utah, Melville Carpenter was 6-foot-1 and 199 pounds. He maintained a 3.1 GPA in zoology, and he was a member of the Phi Sigma Biological Honorary Fraternity. He played a key role on the Utes football team, and he received accolades from coach Ray Nagel as a “highly intelligent athlete who is not only a team leader but conducts himself in an excellent manner on and off the field.”

A three-year letterwinner, Carpenter earned Academic All-America and All-WAC honors in 1964, helping Utah to a 9-2 record, a WAC title and a win over West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl. The 1964 campaign was the winningest for the Utes until 1994, and the team was elected into the Crimson Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.

Carpenter earned his doctorate from the UCLA Dental School, and he has worked in the dental field for more than 30 years. He is the founder and owner of Yucca Valley Family Dentistry in Yucaipa, Calif.