THE BLITZ

2007 William V. Campbell Trophy winner Dallas Griffin (Texas) rode in the MS 150, a two-day fundraising event organized by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, over the weekend after being diagnosed with the disease last summer.

NFF Board Member Tim Cook and 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy winner Tim Tebow (Florida) were listed among “The 100 Most Influential People in the World” in the latest issue of TIME.

Ole Miss has adjusted its campus speed limit from 18 miles per hour, the number worn by College Football Hall of Famer and NFF Chairman Archie Manning, to 10 mph in celebration of the number donned by his son, 2003 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Eli Manning.

College Football Hall of Fame coach Vince Dooley will receive the Duffy Daugherty Memorial Award on Thursday in Bath, Mich. Daugherty was a College Football Hall of Fame coach at Michigan State.

Auburn unveiled statues of its Heisman Trophy winners, including Cam Newton and College Football Hall of Fame inductees Bo Jackson and Pat Sullivan before its April 14 spring game.

2011 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Ryan Tannehill (Texas A&M) has signed an endorsement contract with Adidas. View highlights of Tannehill’s career that were shown during the 54th NFF Annual Awards dinner at NFFOnDemand.com.

Several NFF honorees are expected to be selected in this week’s NFL Draft including 2008 NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Andrew Luck (Stanford), 2011 NFF National Scholar-Athletes Ryan Tannehill (Texas A&M), Kirk Cousins (Michigan State) and Chandler Harnish (Northern Illinois) and Campbell Trophy semifinalist Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State) among others. Coverage begins live from Radio City Music Hall in New York at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, 7 p.m. ET Friday and noon ET Saturday on ESPN and NFL Network.

2011 Campbell Trophy semifinalist Emmanuel Acho (Texas) has been named a finalist for the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award.

2010 NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Tevin Hood will attempt to walk on at Arizona this fall.

New football school Berry (Ga.) College has named Tony Kunczewski as the program’s first head coach.

Air Force, the Big East, the Big 12, Colgate, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, the Patriot League, Pittsburgh, the SEC, Troy, Virginia Tech and William & Mary have joined the NFF as Institutional Academic Members.

Campbell Trophy semifinalist Spencer Whipple of Miami (Fla.) is the NFF's Scholar-Athlete of the Day, presented by Fidelity Investments. Check daily at FootballFoundation.org to see which Campbell Trophy candidate is the Scholar-Athlete of the Day.

You can keep up with the NFF on Twitter at Twitter.com/NFFNetwork and on Facebook.com/NFFNetwork.

Stay involved with the game. Become an NFF member here.

The NFF is in search of interns. To find information on the internship program, please click here.

OVER THE MIDDLE

The Bill Dooley/Triangle East (N.C.) Chapter holds its scholar-athlete banquet on Monday. . . .The NFF Passaic County (N.J.) Chapter will conduct its annual banquet on Wednesday. . . . The NFF Midlands (S.C.) Chapter will hold its scholar-athlete banquet on Thursday. . . . The NFF Southern Idaho Chapter and the NFF Wisconsin Chapter will host their annual banquets on Saturday. . . . The NFF Hawaii Chapter, the NFF Southeastern Connecticut Chapter and the NFF Vermont Chapter will hold their scholar-athlete banquets on Sunday.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL

Scheduling

Massachusetts has announced a slew of future non-conference games versus Boston College, Colorado, Florida, Kansas State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Wisconsin in the coming seasons. . . . Houston and Rice have extended the Bayou Bucket series through 2013. . . . Ohio has announced home-and-home games with Kansas in 2016-17 and Cincinnati in 2018 and 2020. . . . Miami (Fla.) and Florida Atlantic have announced a three-game series in 2013, 2015-16. . . . The Chick-fil-A Bowl will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 31. . . . The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl will begin at 11:45 a.m. ET on Dec. 29.

Media

ESPN’s College GameDay is conducting a social media contest beginning Monday through May 2 to have the show shoot a commercial on the campus of the winning school this summer. . . . Baylor at Louisiana – Monroe will kickoff at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 21 and be shown by either ESPN or ESPN2. . . . SMU at Baylor will be broadcast by FSN at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 2. . . . Kansas State has reached an agreement with KMAN-AM and KMKF-FM to retain exclusive flagship rights to the Wildcats’ radio broadcasts. . . . ESPN personality Chris Berman spoke to students, alumni, faculty and staff at Brown last week.

Community Service

Tops Friendly Markets, in conjunction with Syracuse football and Nestle USA, recently presented the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York with a $2,300 donation. . . . Nevada has announced that its third annual Blue Tie Ball has attracted its attendance yet, raising $100,000 to fund student-athlete scholarships. . . . Bowling Green football will host “Get in the Game, Save a Life” on Monday to boost the numbers of potential bone marrow donors.

Facilities

Vanderbilt has proposed a multipurpose facility that will include an indoor practice field. . . . Boise State has broken ground on its $22 million football complex. . . . LSU will present a proposal to install 60 suites, 3,000 club seats and 1,500 general public seats in the south end of Tiger Stadium at the LSU Board of Supervisors meeting on Thursday. . . . North Texas has christened a meeting room at Apogee Stadium as the Bill Mercer Press Club. Mercer called North Texas games on radio from 1959-1994 and taught broadcasting at the school for more than 30 years. . . . Buffalo has announced that the Murchie family has provided a $1 million gift toward projects in UB Stadium and Alumni Arena. The school will name its football center as the Murchie Family Football Center. . . . Syracuse has begun renovations on its locker room, student-athlete lounge, cafeteria, Hall of Fame lobby and team auditorium. . . . C.W. Post (N.Y.) has begun an $8 million renovation of Hickox Field.

Miscellaneous

The Air Force football seniors and coaches visited the White House to receive the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy from President Barack Obama on Monday. . . . The Reynolds Foundation and chairman Fred Smith have donated $1.25 million to Arkansas. . . . Alabama head coach Nick Saban will be the guest speaker at the Team Focus Fund Raiser hosted by the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Monday. . . . Duke head coach David Cutcliffe threw out the first pitch at Thursday’s Carolina Mudcats game. . . . North Dakota State athletics director Gene Taylor accepted the Blue Key Society’s Doctor of Service Award, one of the highest an NDSU faculty member can receive, last week. . . . Former football player Kevin Thomas and the 1984 California Bowl championship team were selected to the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame last week. . . . Former Penn State football players Derek Bochna and Robert “Red” Worrell have been chosen to the WPIAL Hall of Fame. . . . Arkansas painted the hashtag #GoHogs on Razorback Field for its spring game on Saturday. . . . Notre Dame will celebrate the 125th year of Fighting Irish football with a series of "Strong and True" events throughout the fall. The Sept. 22 game versus Michigan will feature special recognition events based on Notre Dame football history, dating back to the program’s first game against Michigan in 1887. . . . Memphis is offering fans the chance to sponsor a locker in the DeAngelo Williams Football Locker Room. . . . Stony Brook athletics director Jim Fiore, Jr. and his wife, Lisa, have pledged a $25,000 gift to establish the Jim Fiore, Sr. Endowment for Academic and Athletic Excellence. . . . Army has combined all its social media and digital assets under the newly formed Black Knights Digital Network. . . . Nike and Boise State have agreed to an apparel deal that will net the Broncos more than $6.24 million over six years.

Obituaries

Former Richmond player Ray Easterling passed away Thursday, April 19. He was 62.

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2012 Key NFF Dates

May 15, 2012 - Announcement of the 2012 Football Bowl Subdivision inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame - New York City

May 22, 2012 - Announcement of the 2012 Divisional Inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame - Dallas, Texas

July 20-21, 2012 - College Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival - South Bend, Indiana

Sept. 27, 2012 - Announcement of the 2012 Campbell Trophy Semifinalists - Dallas, Texas

Oct. 25, 2012 - Announcement of the 2012 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments and Campbell Trophy Finalists - Dallas, Texas

Dec. 4, 2012 - 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner - Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, New York City

Dec. 4, 2012 - The 23rd Presentation of Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, to the nation's top scholar-athlete at the Waldorf=Astoria - New York, N.Y.

Jan. 2, 2013 - National Hall of Fame Salute at the Allstate Sugar Bowl - New Orleans, La.

Jan. 7, 2013 - Presentation of the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award - Miami, Fla.

Jan. 8, 2013 - MacArthur Bowl Presentation to the BCS National Champion - Miami, Fla.

NFF Information

Advertising in NFF publications will put your organization in front of key decision makers in football including key administrators, coaches, players, former players, as well as other key sports business executives throughout the year. To inquire about the print advertising opportunities available to your organization, please contact Bret Krift with IMG College at 859-226-4406 or bret.krift@imgworld.com.

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For more information on the NFF and college football, including announcements from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and NCAA Football, please visit www.footballfoundation.org.

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The 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner will be held Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, at New York City's Waldorf=Astoria. For more ticket information, please contact NFF Director of National Events Will Rudd at 1-800-486-1865 or via email at wrudd@footballfoundation.com.

Notes

The NFF would like to thank correspondent Bo Carter for his contributions to this report.

NFF Chalktalk items are welcome, and should be submitted to news@footballfoundation.com.