IRVING, Texas  (Nov. 6, 2014) – McNeese State and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor Leonard Smith with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, on Nov. 8 in Lake Charles during the game between McNeese State and Stephen F. Austin. Coverage of the game will start at 7 p.m. ET on McNeeseSports.com.

The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program is a hallowed tradition that began with the inaugural class in 1951, and to this day the salutes remain the first of numerous activities in each inductee’s Hall of Fame experience. During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each inductee returns to his alma mater to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will remain on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many inductees cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and hear the crowd roar their name.

The first Cowboy to be inducted into the Hall, Smith earned All-America honors during a standout career from 1980-82.

“Leonard Smith was one of the greatest players in McNeese State history,” said NFF President and CEO Steve Hatchell. “A 1982 First-Team All-American, Smith twice earned both All-Louisiana and All-Southland Conference honors during his standout career in Lake Charles. We are thrilled to honor him in front of the McNeese State faithful at Cowboy Stadium.”

The 1982 Southland Conference and Louisiana Defensive Player of the Year led the Cowboys to a 32-12-2 record and back-to-back conference titles and Independence Bowl berths in 1979 and 1980. McNeese State’s Most Valuable Player his senior year, Smith holds school records for blocked kicks in a season with six and in a career with 17.

Picked 17^th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft, Smith is the highest pick ever in Southland Conference and school history. He played nine seasons with the Cardinals and Buffalo Bills, and he helped lead the Bills to Super Bowls XXV and XXVI.

After retiring, the New Orleans native became a private businessman. A member of the McNeese State Hall of Fame, Smith was named to the Southland Conference All-Time 50th Anniversary Football Team in 2013.

Including the 2014 class, only 948 players and 207 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.06 million people who have played or coached the game over the past 145 years. In other words, only two ten-thousandths of one percent (.0002) of those who have set foot on the gridiron have earned the distinction. Click here for a complete list of players and coaches in the Hall.

The 2014 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted at the 57^th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, held at New York City’s historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Tuesday, Dec. 9. This year’s College Football Hall of Fame Class includes: Dre Bly (DB, North Carolina), Tony Boselli (OT, Southern California), Dave Butz (DT, Purdue), Shane Conlan (LB, Penn State), Joe Hamilton (QB, Georgia Tech), John Huard (LB, Maine), Darrin Nelson (HB, Stanford), Willie Roaf (OL, Louisiana Tech), John Sciarra (QB, UCLA), Sterling Sharpe (WR, South Carolina), Leonard Smith (CB, McNeese State), the late Derrick Thomas (LB, Alabama), LaDainian Tomlinson (TB, TCU), Wesley Walls (TE, Mississippi), and coaches Mike Bellotti (Chico State [Calif.], Oregon) and Jerry Moore (North Texas, Texas Tech and Appalachian State). For more information, please contact Will Rudd at wrudd@footballfoundation.com or by calling 972.556.1000.

Remaining Scheduled 2014 NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes
Presented by Fidelity Investments
(Chronological Order)

Date	Inductee	School (Years Played/Coached)	Opposing Team
Nov. 8	Leonard Smith	McNeese State (1980-82)	Stephen F. Austin
Nov. 15	Joe Hamilton	Georgia Tech (1996-99)	Clemson
Nov. 22	John Sciarra	UCLA (1972-75)	Southern California
Nov. 29	Dre Bly	North Carolina (1996-98)	North Carolina State

The 2014 season marks the fifth season that Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of not-for-profit workplace retirement savings plans to higher education employees, is serving as the national presenting sponsor of the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes. The salutes are one component of a multi-year initiative between the two organizations to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal and a joint commitment to higher education. At the start of the 2014 season, Fidelity became the presenting sponsor of the William V. Campbell Trophy, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award, which is celebrating its 25^th Anniversary in 2014. Other highlights of the sponsorship include Fidelity becoming the first presenting sponsor of the organization’s prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards and helping launch the NFF Faculty Salutes Initiative, which recognizes the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives around the country.


About Fidelity Investments
Fidelity’s goal is to make financial expertise broadly accessible and effective in helping people live the lives they want. With assets under administration of $4.9 trillion, including managed assets of $2.0 trillion as of September 30, 2014, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a diverse set of customers: helping 23 million people investing their own life savings, 20,000 businesses to manage their employee benefit programs, as well as providing 10,000 advisors and brokers with technology solutions to invest their own clients’ money. Privately held for nearly 70 years, Fidelity employs 41,000 associates who are focused on the long-term success of our customers. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.

About The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame, the NFF Scholar-Athlete Awards presented by Fidelity Investments, the NFF High School Showcases, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF Faculty Salute Initiative presented by Fidelity Investments, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association, and scholarships of more than $1.3 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF also collaborates with the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to release the FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll; awards the William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Fidelity Investments and prominently displayed at its official home inside the New York Athletic Club; and bestows several other major awards at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner. NFF corporate partners include the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Fidelity Investments, Herff Jones, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the Sports Business Journal, and Under Armour. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.