(Pictured: The NFF announced today that veteran sports journalist Bonnie Bernstein will serve as the moderator for the NFF Annual Awards Press Conference while former NFL and UCLA head coach Dick Vermeil will emcee the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon, presented by Under Armour. Both events will take place Dec. 8 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.)
IRVING, Texas (Nov. 23, 2015) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that veteran sports journalist
Bonnie Bernstein will serve as the moderator for the NFF Annual Awards Press Conference from 9 a.m. to Noon ET while former NFL and UCLA head coach
Dick Vermeil will emcee the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon, presented by Under Armour, at 11:30 a.m. ET. Both events will take place Dec. 8 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.
“Bonnie Bernstein has built a reputation as a leader in the field of sports journalism, and we are thrilled she has agreed to help moderate the press conference for a third year in a row,” said NFF President & CEO
Steve Hatchell. “Dick Vermeil has established himself as one of the most-respected coaches to ever walk the sidelines, and his presence significantly enhances our efforts to engage leaders in the grassroots activities that strengthen our sport for future generations.”
The press conference will be streamed live on ESPN3, and Bernstein will interview the NFF Major Award honorees, the College Football Hall of Fame inductees and the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments during the event. The press conference will also feature the announcement of the 2015 recipient of the Wuerffel Trophy, named in honor of 1996
Campbell Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer
Danny Wuerffel (Florida) and given annually to the college football player who best exhibits exemplary community service.
See below for the full list of 2015 Hall of Fame inductees, major award winners and NFF National Scholar-Athletes.
Media who wish to cover the press conference or want more information should email NFF Director of Communications
Phil Marwill at
pmarwill@footballfoundation.com or call 917.579.4256.
NFF Annual Awards Press Conference Timeline:
(All Times Eastern)
· 9:00 a.m. – NFF Major Award Winners
· 9:45 a.m. – College Football Hall of Fame Class
· 10:30 a.m. – Break for one-on-one interviews
· 10:45 a.m. – Wuerffel Trophy Announcement
· 11:00 a.m. – NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments
· 11:45 a.m. – Break for one-on-one interviews
The NFF Major Award honorees, College Football Hall of Famers and NFF National Scholar-Athletes will be honored later in the evening during the 58th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 at the Waldorf Astoria. Fans can watch a live stream of the NFF Annual Awards Dinner starting at 8 p.m. ET, on ESPN3.
2015 NFF Major Award Recipients:
Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (NFF Gold Medal), Rear Adm. Bill Byrne of the United States Naval Academy (NFF Distinguished American Award), Capt. Jared Tew of the United States Air Force Academy (NFF Distinguished American Award), Maj. Graham White of the United States Military Academy (NFF Distinguished American Award), former Princeton placekicker Charlie Gogolak and former Cornell placekicker Pete Gogolak (NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award), Michigan State Director of Athletics Mark Hollis (NFF John L. Toner Award), LSU broadcaster Jim Hawthorne (NFF Chris Schenkel Award), former Big 12 Senior Associate Commissioner Donnie Duncan (NFF Legacy Award) and former SEC Commissioner Mike Slive (NFF Legacy Award).
2015 College Football Hall of Fame Class:
Trev Alberts (Nebraska), Brian Bosworth (Oklahoma), Bob Breunig (Arizona State), Sean Brewer (Millsaps [Miss.]), Ruben Brown (Pittsburgh), Wes Chandler (Florida), Thom Gatewood (Notre Dame), Dick Jauron (Yale), Clinton Jones (Michigan State), Lincoln Kennedy (Washington), the late Rob Lytle (Michigan), Michael Payton (Marshall), Art Still (Kentucky), Zach Thomas (Texas Tech), Ricky Williams (Texas) and coaches Bill Snyder (Kansas State) and Jim Tressel (Youngstown State, Ohio State).
2015 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments:
E.K. Binns (Navy), Jacoby Boren (Ohio State), Jake Brendel (UCLA), Taveze Calhoun (Mississippi State), Derek Crittenden (Montana), Ty Darlington (Oklahoma), Jordan Dobrich (Nevada), Spencer Drango (Baylor), Blake Frohnapfel (Massachusetts), Jordan Italiano (Kent State), Hank Spencer (Mount Union [Ohio]) and Jason Vander Laan (Ferris State [Mich.]).
Vermeil will emcee the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. ET as the NFF honors the five 2015 NFF National High School Scholar-Athletes and the five winners of the 2015 Chapter Leadership Awards. See below for a full list of Chapter Awards Luncheon honorees.
2015 NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Honorees:
Zachary Allen (NFF Ralph Desantis/Fairfield County Chapter – currently attending Boston College); Kenneth Brinson Jr. (Touchdown Club of Atlanta-NFF Chapter – currently attending Army West Point); William Hefley III (NFF Arkansas Chapter – currently attending Tulsa); Jelani Roberts (NFF Greater Baltimore Chapter – currently attending Northwestern); and Josh Rosen (NFF Los Angeles Chapter – currently attending UCLA).
2015 NFF Chapter Leadership Award Recipients:
Mark Ball (Texas Tech Chapter), Marc Hudak (New York City Chapter), Richard Lewis (Joseph Mewhiney/Central Massachusetts Chapter), Gerry McGuire (Sunflower [Kan.] Chapter) and Tom Taradash (Valley of the Sun [Ariz.] Chapter).
For more information about the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon and to purchase tickets, please contact Ron Dilatush at 972.556.1000 or rdilatush@footballfoundation.com.
Bonnie Bernstein Bio
Bonnie Bernstein is recognized by the American Sportscasters Association as one of the most accomplished female journalists in her field. After spending 17 years covering some of the nation’s most prestigious sports events on-air for ESPN and CBS, she is now helping build a network both in front of and behind the camera.
Bernstein, a former star student-athlete, is the “face” and vice president, content and brand development, of Campus Insiders, a digital collaboration between IMG College, America’s premier college sports marketing company, and Silver Chalice Ventures. Bernstein hosts a daily show, “The Download with Bonnie Bernstein,” during the college football season and NCAA Basketball Championship; her other efforts focus on creating original programming for college sports’ first 24/7 digital network, developing and securing new sponsor partnerships and designing brand extensions that enhance the reach of CI’s digital and social platforms.
Bernstein’s foray into the executive world comes after eight years with the ESPN family in a variety of roles. She hosted several high profile shows for “The Worldwide Leader,” including NFL Live, Outside the Lines, Jim Rome is Burning and First Take; seasoned her radio chops as host of New York Football Live on ESPN Radio in New York; canvassed the sidelines for Sunday Night Baseball and ESPN on ABC College Football; and continues to be a contributor for ESPN’s women’s platform, espnW.
During Super Bowl XXXVIII, Bernstein became the first sideline reporter to serve as both a network TV (CBS) and network radio (Westwood One) correspondent on the same broadcast. She began her television career at WMDT-TV (ABC) in Salisbury, Md., anchoring weekend news, and broke into broadcasting in radio as the News and Sports Director for WXJN-FM in Lewes, Del. A four-time Academic All-American in gymnastics at the University of Maryland, Bernstein received the Thomas M. Fields award for excellence in academics and athletics.
Dick Vermeil Bio
One of the most distinguished coaching careers in National Football League history officially concluded when Dick Vermeil announced his retirement from professional football in January 2006. Vermeil spent 15 seasons as an NFL head coach and was a member of the league’s coaching fraternity for 19 seasons. In addition, Vermeil has had a prestigious career as a football broadcaster, analyzing both NFL and college games. In January, 2006, he was portrayed on the big screen by Greg Kinnear in the film Invincible.
Vermeil began his coaching career on the high-school level in 1959, after receiving a bachelor’s and master’s degree from San Jose State. He then moved up into the community college ranks in 1962, followed by his first position as a NCAA Division I assistant coach at Stanford University in 1965. In 1969, George Allen hired Vermeil to become the first special teams coach in NFL history with the Los Angeles Rams. Following a four-year period as a Ram assistant, he was named head coach at UCLA in 1974, where he led the Bruins to a Rose Bowl Championship over the No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Jan. 1, 1976.
Vermeil’s 15-year tenure as an NFL head coach began when he was chosen to guide the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976, a team that hadn’t been in the NFL playoffs in 16 years. In seven seasons with the Eagles, Vermeil engineered four playoff appearances, highlighted by a trip to Super Bowl XV vs. the Oakland Raiders in 1980. Vermeil retired following the 1982 season.
Shortly after departing the sidelines in Philadelphia, Vermeil began a 14-year broadcasting career, serving as an NFL and college football analyst for CBS and ABC. In addition, he provided color commentary for the Kansas City Chiefs preseason television broadcasts from 1989-96.
In 1997, Vermeil returned to the NFL as head coach of the St. Louis Rams, and led the team to its first Super Bowl victory after the 1999 season, beating the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. This trip to football’s greatest game made Coach Vermeil just one of four coaches in NFL history to lead two different teams to the Super Bowl. Vermeil again retired, but then was recruited to return to the arena in 2001, when he was named the ninth head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. In his third season (2003), the Chiefs won their division with a 13-3 record and advanced into the NFL Playoffs. Vermeil is one of five NFL head coaches to lead three different teams into the playoffs. Following his fifth season with the Chiefs, Vermeil retired for the final time, leaving the Chiefs as the team’s third winningest coach.
After returning home to the Philadelphia area, Vermeil has found the time to help many other worthy causes. Numerous Philadelphia-area organizations have benefited from his involvement, including the Mary Campbell Center, Wistar, Elwyn Inc., and the Boy Scouts of Chester County, whose golf tournament bearing Vermeil’s name annually earns $175,000 for the organization.
In 2008, Vermeil and friends turned his hobby of making Jean Louis Vermeil Cabernet into a full-fledged business, which now annually produces 5,000 cases of quality Calistoga Napa Valley wines.
Vermeil is a member of three college halls of fame: Napa Community College, San Jose State and UCLA; two NFL teams’ Halls of Fame: Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams; three states halls of fame:, California, Missouri and Pennsylvania; and he is the only coach to be awarded Conference Coach of the Year honors on four levels of football competition: high school, community college, Division I college football, and has been selected as the NFL Coach of the Year in 1979 and 1999.
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 FootballMatters.org, the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Fidelity Investments, annual scholarships of more than $1.3 million and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Herff Jones, New York Athletic Club, Pasadena Tournament of Roses, PrimeSport, SKP, the Sports Business Journal and Under Armour. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.
