Football

Monday's Chalktalk - May 3, 2010

NFF News



2009 College Football Hall of Famer Larry Station (Iowa) was inducted into the Omaha Sports Hall of Fame on April 29.

2009 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Josh Mahoney (Northern Iowa) was awarded the prestigious NCAA Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship. He will attend law school in the fall.

NFF Institutional Academic Members



The Big 12 Conference, Coe College, Colonial Athletic Association, Carnegie Mellon, East Carolina University, New Mexico, North Texas and Wisconsin-Whitewater joined the NFF as Institutional Academic Members.



Chapter News



Duke football standouts Brett Huffman and Vincent Rey were named recipients of the University Scholar Athlete award by the NFF Bill Dooley Triangle East Chapter of North Carolina at its annual awards dinner held on the N.C. Central University campus on April 19.

The NFF Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter recognized five area student-athletes for their accomplishments on the field and in the classroom on Wednesday, April 21st with a banquet dinner at the Gulfport Yacht Club. Dylan Favre, nephew of former Southern Miss and current NFL quarterback Brett Favre, was also recognized as the recipient of the Rocky Byrd Award which is presented to the top senior high school quarterback in the coast region.

The NFF Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter held its 14th Annual Spring Football Clinic at the University of New Hampshire on April 25. New Hampshire head coach Sean McDonnell was in attendance.

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, was given at the chapter's annual awards banquet on April 26. NFF board member and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin (Ohio State) was awarded the Distinguished American Award.

The NFF Utah Chapter honored 14 high school scholar-athletes at its banquet on April 27 at Utah Valley's McKay Event Center.

The NFF Ralph DeSantis Fairfield County Chapter held its annual scholar athlete dinner on April 27 at the Continental Manor in Norwalk. The chapter honored 36 scholar-athlete recipients.

The NFF St. Louis/Tom Lombardo Chapter held its annual banquet last night on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. The chapter honored 14 high school scholar-athletes including Taylor Dee, who took home the Jack Snow Scholarship. LTC Greg Gadson, who played on Army's 1988 Sun Bowl squad provided the keynote address and Steve Savard, the voice of the St. Louis Rams served as emcee. Washington University in St. Louis head coach Larry Kindbom and General Ralph Eberhart, USAF (Ret.) were also in attendance.

The NFF Rhode Island Chapter is holding its annual awards dinner tonight at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick. The chapter will recognize its annual "Golden Dozen" scholar-athletes as well as eleven Silver Scholar-Athletes. Former Smithfield High football coach and retired R.I. National Guard Gen. Jim Dunn will be honored as the Rhode Island Outstanding American and veteran official Bud Conley will be honored for his 40 years of officiating Rhode Island high school football games.



The NFF Memphis Chapter is hosting its annual banquet on May 10th at The Great Hall on Rhodes College's campus.



The NFF Northern Connecticut Chapter banquet will be May 16 at the Aqua Turf in Southington. Mike Savage (retiring CAS-CIAC executive director) will receive the Distinguished American Award and Chris Palmer (UFL Hartford Colonials Coach) will receive the Contributions to Football Award.



The NFF Lehigh Valley Chapter (Pa.) is inducting six new members into its hall of fame on May 7 including: Nate Hobgood-Chittick (North Carolina); Scott Saylor (Maryland); George Atiyeh (LSU); Mike Bundra (USC); Lamont Ebbert; Gerry Frakas (Penn State) and broadcaster Michael Zambelli.



Other upcoming chapter banquets include:



May 2, NFF Rochester Chapter luncheon

May 2, NFF Joe Mewhiney/Central Mass Chapter

May 2, NFF Tacoma (WA) Chapter

May 4, Corrigan/Faircloth Chapter, held at Elon University
May 4, Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter, Manchester NJ
May 5, Philadelphia Chapter, held at the Connelly Center, Villanova University
May 8, NFF Iowa Chapter
May 10, Greater Austin Chapter, held at the Union Building, University of Texas
May 10, Memphis Chapter, held at Rhodes College
May 10, Jack Grinold/Eastern Mass Chapter, Boston
May 10, Capital District Chapter, Albany NY

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



The sixth annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney is set to kickoff at noon ET, Sept. 5, on ESPN... The Dr. Pepper ACC Championship game will be played in prime time on national television at 7:45 p.m. ET on ESPN, Dec. 4... Northwestern and Illinois will play a Big Ten game at Wrigley Field, home of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, on Nov. 20... The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl announced that kickoff for the eighth annual bowl game will be Dec. 30 at 11 a.m.CST on ESPN.

Business



Boise State coach Chris Petersen's contract has been extended five-years... The Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg signed an agreement with the Big East and Conference USA that lasts through the 2013 college football season... Ross Bjork started as Western Kentucky University's Director of Athletics on April 26. At age 37, Bjork is the youngest of the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision athletic directors.

Awards and Honors



The Rotary Lombardi Award Committee released the preliminary watch list for the 2010 Rotary Lombardi Award. The list of 75 players can be found at rotarylombardiaward.org... ESPN's College GameDay and Kirk Herbstreit won the Studio Show/Weekly and Studio Analyst Sports Emmys, respectively... Former Michigan State All-Americans and College Football Hall of Famers Brad Van Pelt and John Pingel will have their names added to Spartan Stadium's "Ring of Fame" prior to MSU's Sept. 18 home game against Notre Dame.

Miscellaneous



Former Tennessee head coach Phil Fulmer will deliver the commencement address for the UT College of Communication and Information on May 12... Athlon is launching the nation's largest sports magazine in October 2010 called Athlon Sports... A stellar field participated in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl Challenge golf charity tournament on April 27. The tournament featured 10 College Football Hall of Famers, 20 All-Americans and six coaches of the year. The pairings for the event included: Nick Saban and Steve Sloan (Alabama) , Dabo Swinney and Dwight Clark (Clemson) , Jimbo Fisher and Terrell Buckley (Florida State) , Paul Johnson and Jon Barry (Georgia Tech) , Ralph Friedgen and Stan Gelbaugh (Maryland) , Houston Nutt and Wesley Walls (Ole Miss) , Butch Davis and Natrone Means (North Carolina) , Monte Towe and Sidney Lowe (North Carolina State) , Steve Spurrier and Sterling Sharpe (South Carolina) , Bobby Johnson and Will Perdue (Vanderbilt) , Frank Beamer and Brad Clontz (Virginia Tech) and Jim Grobeand Billy Packer (Wake Forest) . The Florida State team of head coach Jimbo Fisher and Terrell Buckley won the event.

Obituaries



Former Tennessee fullback Andy Kozar died last Thursday at age 79... Penn captain Owen Thomas died last Monday at age 21.

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



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