IRVING, Texas (March 24, 2015) - The National Football Foundation (NFF) Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter announced today the 2015 major award winners who will be honored at the club's Seventh Annual Awards Banquet on April 6 at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. In addition to the award winners, the event will also feature new SMU head coach Chad Morris as the keynote speaker, and Award-winning sportscaster Scott Murray will serve as the evening's emcee for the seventh consecutive year.

The 2015 major award winners include:

• John Scovell, former Texas Tech quarterback, 1967 NFF National Scholar-Athlete, past chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association and current President & CEO of Woodbine Development Corporation – Distinguished Texan Award
• Bob Ledbetter, legendary Southlake Carroll head football coach – Legends Award
• Freeman Johns, Big 12 Conference side judge who worked inaugural CFP National Championship in January – Steve Storie Official of the Year
• Ted Madden, WFAA sports broadcaster – Media Person of the Year
• Jack Alvarez, Ennis – Class 5A Coach of the Year
• Richard Barrett, Kennedale – Class 4A Coach of the Year
• Clayton George, Southlake Carroll – Assistant Coach of the Year

The awardees will join the college and high school scholar-athletes who will be announced in the coming weeks. More than $10,000 in scholarships will be distributed to several of the high school scholar-athletes.

“All of our 2015 honorees have built tremendous careers geared toward making football in North Texas as good as it can be,” said Gerald Brence, president of the NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter and athletics director for the Plano Independent School District. “They have all enjoyed considerable success, and it is our pleasure to recognize each of their efforts.”

With the ceremony starting at 6:30 p.m., the event will showcase the great stories in North Texas that will inspire future student-athletes to excel in the classroom and become more involved in their communities. The event also provides a key platform for recognizing the contributions of the football leaders in the region who have placed North Texas football among the best in the nation, and this year's honorees have been selected for their outstanding accomplishments and lasting community impact.

The 2014 event attracted more than 500 people. For more information on 2015 tickets and/or banquet sponsorship opportunities, please contact club president Gerald Brence at 469-878-5370 or via e-mail at Gerald.Brence@pisd.edu.

2015 NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Major Award Honoree Bios

Distinguished Texan Award – John Scovell
John Scovell founded Woodbine Development Corporation with Dallas businessman Ray L. Hunt in October 1973, and he currently serves as the company’s President & CEO. Over the years, he has championed many commercial real estate projects in downtown Dallas, most notably the Hyatt Regency Dallas with its landmark Reunion Tower. Scovell played quarterback at Texas Tech University from 1965-67, starting as a junior and senior under Coach J.T. King. Honored as Texas Tech’s first NFF National Scholar-Athlete in 1967 for his combined performance on the field, in the classroom and in the community, he had many memorable moments as a Red Raider on the field. In 1966, he led the team to the Upset of the Year when they knocked Arkansas out of the Cotton Bowl in the season finale, 21-16. A year later, Scovell rushed for 175 yards in a historic upset of Texas in Austin. He graduated No.1 in his class at Texas Tech’s College of Business in 1968, and he received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1970. He served as chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association from 1980-82, and he currently serves on its board of directors. Click here for the full release on Scovell receiving the Distinguished Texan Award.

Legends Award – Bob Ledbetter
Bob Ledbetter coached high school football in Texas for 30 years, and he is the former athletics director of Southlake Carroll High School. He spent his first 13 seasons at Frisco, first as an assistant coach for 10 years and then as head coach for three. Ledbetter etched his name into Texas high school football lore during his 17 seasons as the head coach at Southlake Carroll. His Southlake Carroll teams won State Championships in 1988, 1992 and 1993, and they set a national record by winning 72-consecutive regular season games from 1986-93. Boasting an overall career record of 208-39-3, the three-time State Coach of the Year posted seven-consecutive undefeated regular seasons with the Dragons. Ledbetter also stressed academics and the high school twice earned the UIL’s Lone Star Cup for the state’s best athletic and academic programs. Ledbetter stepped down as head coach in 1995, and he served as Southlake Carroll’s athletics director until 2002 before retiring and starting a successful athletic coaching search firm. He served on the Board of Directors for the Texas High School Coaches Association and is a member of the THSCA Hall of Honor. A native of Ardmore, Okla., Ledbetter played football at Southeastern Oklahoma State University from 1958-62, and he was inducted into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.

Steve Storie Official of the Year – Freeman Johns
A Big 12 Conference official since 1994, Freeman Johns has worked many notable games, including serving as the side judge during the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship between Ohio State and Oregon in January. Some of his memorable games include Baylor’s 21-point, fourth-quarter comeback win against TCU in October 2014 and Kansas State’s victory over Texas in 2012, which secured the Wildcats’ Big 12 title. Johns was also the side judge for two Red River Rivalry games between Oklahoma and Texas and the 2014 Outback Bowl between Iowa and LSU. He was part of an officiating crew featured in a great article by ESPN writer Ivan Maisel, which provided a unique inside look at collegiate officiating. Johns went to Rider High School in Wichita Falls, Texas, before playing wide receiver at SMU from 1973-75. He led the Southwest Conference in yards per reception and receiving touchdowns as a senior, and he went on to play two seasons in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams.

Media Person of the Year – Ted Madden
Ted Madden has been a key contributor to WFAA’s sports coverage since joining the station in 2002. He does just about every job possible for the station’s broadcast and online sports coverage: anchoring, reporting, shooting, editing, writing, and producing. Madden covers the professional sports teams in Dallas-Fort Worth, but his favorite part of the job is doing stories with high school athletes and coaches, and he is a regular contributor on WFAA’s weekly 30-minute “High School Sports Special” that airs on Sunday nights. The Aurora, Ill., native graduated from Franklin College (Ind.) before landing his first television job with KCFW in Kalispell, Mont. He spent six years in Shreveport, La., at both KSLA and KTBS before making the move to Dallas in 2002. He lives with his wife Catie, 3-year-old son John, and 10-month-old daughter Julia.

Class 5A Coach of the Year - Jack Alvarez, Ennis
In just four seasons at Ennis High School, Jack Alvarez has returned the Lions to prominence after leading them to the 2014 Class 5A Division II state title. Ennis trailed Cedar Park in the championship game 35-31 with less than two minutes to play before going on an impressive 80-yard drive that included a hook-and-lateral and a 36-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left for the win. After beginning the 2014 season with two losses, Ennis won 14-consecutive games to win the school’s fifth state title and first under Alvarez, who was named the Coach of the Year by the Dallas Morning News’ SportsDayHS. He has amassed a 39-13 record during his four seasons at Ennis, and he led the team to the Class 4A Division II state semifinals in 2013, where they lost to eventual champion Aledo. Before coming to Ennis in 2011, Alvarez amassed a 95-38 record in 11 seasons at Kirbyville High School, where he led the team to back-to-back Class 2A title games in 2008 and 2009.

Class 4A Coach of the Year - Richard Barrett, Kennedale
Richard Barrett has been a head high school football coach for 20 years, amassing a career record of 165-68-1 for an impressive .705 winning percentage. Among the top 40 in career wins among active head coaches in Texas, he led Godley High School from 1995-2000 before coming to Kennedale in 2001. His teams at Kennedale have made the playoffs every season during his 14 years as head coach, including trips to the quarterfinals in 2001, 2003 and 2005. In 2014, Barrett’s Wildcats reached the regional semifinals in their first season at the Class 4A Division I level. Kennedale’s longest serving head coach, he also serves as the athletics director for the school district, overseeing all athletics at the high school and junior high levels.

Assistant Coach of the Year – Clayton George, Southlake Carroll
The offensive coordinator at Southlake Carroll High School since 2010, Clayton George has nearly two decades of experience as a highly successful high school and college football coach. Previously, he served as head coach at Haltom High School and Hillcrest High School and as an assistant coach under Todd Dodge at both the University of North Texas and at Southlake Carroll. He was a member of Southlake Carroll’s coaching staff for the 2002 and 2011 undefeated Class 5A State Championship teams, and he has coached a number of elite high school, college and NFL players. He was a heralded college player at North Texas where he was a three-year starter at wide receiver from 1991-93, and he was twice selected to the All-Southland Conference Team.


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.