DALLAS, August 16, 2011 - The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today that longtime voices of college football Verne Lundquist and Brent Musburger have been named co-recipients of the organization's 2011 Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award.

"We are thrilled to honor both Brent and Verne, two of the best announcers our sport has ever known," said NFF president and CEO Steve Hatchell. "Millions of fans have had their fall Saturdays enriched by their exceptional storytelling abilities, and they stand atop the broadcasting profession as true masters of capturing the drama of the gridiron. We are all truly fortunate to have been in their audience for so many years, and we look forward to honoring them at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 6 in New York City."

First presented in 1974, the award provides national recognition to those whose efforts to support the NFF and its goals have been local in nature or who have made significant contributions to the game of football either to the manner in which it is played and coached or to the manner in which it is enjoyed by spectators. Lundquist and Musburger become the 35th and 36th recipients of this prestigious award.

Lundquist and Musburger are most recent individuals to be announced as recipients of an NFF Major Award in 2011, joining Dr. Archie Roberts (Distinguished American Award); and Ted Ruta (Outstanding Football Official Award). The Gold Medal recipient and Chris Schenkel Award recipient for excellence in broadcasting will be announced via national press releases in the near future.

The NFF Major Award winners, along with the 2011 College Football Hall of Fame inductees and the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments, will be honored at the NFF 54th Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. For ticket information, please contact NFF director of national events Will Rudd at 800.486.1865 or wrudd@footballfoundation.com.


VERNE LUNDQUIST'S BIO

Known throughout the sports broadcasting industry as the "Golden Throat," Verne Lundquist has become an integral part of the sports broadcasting landscape during the past forty years with his memorable calls and a colorful approach that has made him a fan favorite. Currently, he serves as the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports' coverage of college football, a post he has held since 1998 alongside analyst Gary Danielson. Together, they have become the voices on CBS for SEC football.

The versatile Lundquist also handles announcing roles for CBS's coverage of college basketball, including the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, the Masters, the PGA Championship, and other PGA TOUR events. During his first stint at CBS from 1983 to 1995, Lundquist called the NFL and NBA, and was the network's lead figure skating announcer for the 1992, 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics.

Prior to CBS, Lundquist spent eight years at ABC Sports and three years as a play-by-play announcer for TNT's coverage of the NFL, NBA, golf and figure skating coverage from 1995 to 1997. In all, he has called 20 different sports, including track and field, swimming and diving, boxing, gymnastics and horse racing during his illustrious career.

Lundquist began his career at KTBC-TV in Austin before becoming the sports director at WFAA-TV in Dallas, where he also worked as the radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys for 16 seasons. He has been inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame, the Texas Radio Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Lundquist claimed seven consecutive Texas Sportscaster of the Year awards from 1977 to 1983 and was named a Legend of the Sun Bowl in 2005 by the Sun Bowl Association.

Born in Duluth, Minn., Lundquist grew up in Everett, Wash. and Austin, Texas. He graduated from Texas Lutheran University in 1962 and received that school's Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2009 Lundquist became a member of Texas Lutheran's Board of Regents.

BRENT MUSBURGER'S BIO

A multi-faceted talent with experience spanning decades and networks and nearly every sport imaginable, Brent Musburger has become one of the most-recognized voices and faces in all of sports broadcasting.

Musburger currently serves as the lead voice of college football for ABC and ESPN, and he has called the action on ABC's Saturday Night Football since 2006. He has announced the past five Rose Bowl Games and four BCS Championship games, including Auburn's 22-19 win over Oregon this past season in the Tostitos BCS National Championship.

Musburger joined ABC in May 1990 after 15 years as CBS Sports' primary host and play-by-play commentator. During his reign at CBS, his broadcast responsibilities included college football, The NFL Today, the NCAA Final Four, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, the NBA and the Masters.

During his celebrated 40-year career, he has worked nearly every major sporting event, including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the Final Four, the World Cup, the Indianapolis 500, the Masters, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, and the Little League World Series, and he has done it across multiple media platforms for CBS, ABC, ESPN, CBS Radio Network and ESPN Radio. In 2011, he claimed a well-deserved spot in the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.

A native of Billings, Mont., Musburger graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism before beginning his career as a sportswriter for the Chicago American. He started his broadcast career in 1968 at WBBM-Radio in Chicago as the station's sports director, later assuming the same title for WBBM-TV. He then moved to KNXT-TV in Los Angeles as the co-anchor of the nightly news.

Past recipients of the Outstanding Contributor to Amateur Football Award include:

1974 - Lathrop King Leishman
1975 - Joseph J. Tomlin
1976 - No honoree
1977 - No honoree
1978 - Jack Farcasin
1979 - No honoree
1980 - Field Scovell
1981 - Edward "Moose" Krause
1982 - Earnest E. Seiler
1983 - Gov. William Winter
1984 - No honoree
1985 - A.F. "Bud" Dudley
1986 - Rex Farrior
1987 - Chris Schenkel
1988 - Lindsey Nelson
1989 - Bob Woodruff
1990 - Bill Nichols
1991 - Don B. Canham
1992 - Eddie Robinson
1993 - John E. "Buddy" Leake
1994 - Mike Cleary
1995 - Fred Jacoby
1996 - Robert M. "Scotty" Whitelaw
1997 - Jack Lengyel
1998 - Marino H. Casem
1999 - Chuck Neinas
2000 - Tom Nugent
2001 - Thomas C. Hansen
2002 - Dal Shealy
2003 - Rudy J. Riska
2004 - Rick Dickson, Pat Harmon
2005 - Prentice Gautt
2006 - ESPN's College GameDay
2007 - The Collegiate Bowl Games
2008 - Bill Battle
2009 - Dan Jenkins
2010 - Dr. Joseph Kearney