DALLAS (March 16, 2021) - The National Football Foundation (NFF) Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter announced today the 2021 major award winners who will be honored during the chapter's virtual Awards Show this Sunday, March 21, at 6 p.m. CT. Due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the awards show will be pre-taped and will be streamed here.
 
The 2021 major award winners include:

• Scott Murray, Legendary Dallas-Fort Worth broadcaster – Distinguished Texan Award (previously announced)
• Ronnie Gage, Legendary Football Coach who led the programs at Justin Northwest, Lewisville, Barbers Hill and Paradise High Schools as well as Austin College – Legends Award
• Bo Carter, Longtime Media Relations Administrator – Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award
• Eugene Hall, NFL and Big 12 official who worked Super Bowl LV – Steve Storie Official of the Year
• Joe Trahan, WFAA sports anchor and reporter – Media Person of the Year
• Dave Henigan, Denton Ryan High School – High School Coach of the Year

 
The awardees will be honored alongside the high school scholar-athletes who will be announced tomorrow.

"All of our 2021 honorees have built tremendous careers geared toward making football in North Texas great," said Gerald Brence, president of the NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter and retired 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 in enhancing the Future For Football."

The virtual 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. This year's honorees have been selected for their outstanding accomplishments and lasting community impact.
 
The NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas is one of 120 nationwide chapters of the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame. The NFF 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. NFF programs include Future For Football, the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future.
 
 
2021 NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Major Award Honoree Bios

Distinguished Texan Award – Scott Murray
From U.S. Presidents to U.S. Opens, the World Series to the World Cup, the Olympic Games to
30 straight Super Bowls, Scott Murray has covered them all. He spent over three decades with NBC television as a multi Emmy Award-winning television sports anchor and broadcast journalist. Murray was named Sportscaster of the Year 17 times by various news organizations. He has been recognized as a Living Legend of Journalism by the Press Club of Dallas and is a recipient of the prestigious Silver Circle Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Although Murray retired from nightly television news, he continues to host TV shows and a podcast, is a published author and is a sought-after emcee/host/moderator for conferences and charitable events. He has served on the NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter Board since the chapter's inception in 2008, volunteering his services as the awards banquet emcee each year while also helping to secure top-flight sponsors, guest speakers and honorees. He also created the Scott Murray Difference Maker Award, which is annually presented at the chapter banquet to a college bound graduating high school player who has made an impact on his community. He serves as the Chairman/CEO of Murray Media, a video/HD television production and A/V event media company. (Read the full release here.)
 
Legends Award – Ronnie Gage
Ronnie Gage became a Texas football legend during his illustrious career as both a high school and college football coach. After earning both his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of North Texas, he began his coaching career as an assistant at Lewisville High School from 1981-86, first as running backs coach and then as the offensive coordinator. Gage's first head coaching job came at Justin Northwest High School, where he earned District Coach of the Year honors after leading a turnaround from 0-9-1 his first season in 1987 to consecutive eight-win campaigns in 1989 and 1990. His success led him back to Lewisville, where he served as head coach from 1991-2004. Gage earned District Coach of the Year honors five times while leading the Farmers to two Texas 5A State Championships and five outright district titles. Coach Gage then served as the head coach at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, from 2006-09, helping the Roos lead the conference in rushing all four seasons. He returned to the high school level in 2010 as the head coach for six years at Barbers Hill outside Houston where he added five winning seasons and one last district title. After two final seasons at Paradise High School, Coach Gage retired after the 2017 season having accumulated 187 wins at the high school level. He formerly served as president of the Texas High School Coaches Association and was inducted into the organization's Hall of Honor in 2009. Coach Gage co-wrote the 2019 book, "The Life Coach: Small-Town Lessons on Faith, Family, and Football," in which he shares the important life lessons he learned both on and off the field.
 
Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award – Bo Carter
Bo Carter is a veteran of more than 50 years in college media relations. A native of Sheffield, Alabama, and a 1974 graduate of Vanderbilt University, he has been associated with conference and school athletics media relations since 1970. Carter worked for the Nashville Tennessean and then as media relations assistant at Vanderbilt before working as a sports information director at Mississippi State during the 1970s and 1980s. He found his way to Dallas in 1986 when he was chosen as the final director of media relations for the Southwest Conference before being promoted to assistant commissioner in 1995. From 1996-2006, Carter was director of media relations, assistant commissioner, sports information director, and historian for the Big 12 Conference. A consultant and columnist for the National Football Foundation since 2006, he has also taught classes at the University of North Texas, Texas Wesleyan University and Texas Woman's University. A member of the College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame, Carter has worked 27 College World Series, six men's and women's NCAA Basketball Final Fours and 72 total postseason college football games (including the inaugural College Football Playoff and NCAA Division I Championships and 33 Cotton Bowl Classics).
 
Steve Storie Official of the Year – Eugene Hall
Eugene Hall has spent nearly 20 years in football officiating, currently working as a side judge for the Big 12 Conference and the NFL. After starting as a high school official, he would move on to roles with the Lone Star, Southland and Mountain West conferences as well as the Arena Football League and NFL Europa. He most recently served as the side judge for Super Bowl LV between Tampa Bay and Kansas City in February. Some of the other significant games that Hall has worked include Super Bowl LIII between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, two NFC Championship Games, six other NFL playoff games, the 2009 & 2010 Big 12 Championships and the 2010 Rose Bowl between Ohio State and Oregon. He became an internet sensation during the 2019 NFL postseason after running over Tennessee Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel during the AFC Divisional round. A native of Frisco, Hall graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in accounting in 2000 and works full-time in the Criminal Investigations Division of the IRS.
 
Media Person of the Year – Joe Trahan
Joe Trahan is a sports reporter/anchor for WFAA Channel 8 News. He joined Channel 8 in June 2003 and has been a fixture on the local sports scene for more than half of his nearly 30-year career in local television news. At WFAA, he has covered all of the local professional and collegiate teams, and he serves the high school sports scene as one of the hosts of the channel's "High School Sports Special." The native Houstonian began his career in 1989 during his senior year at Loyola University in New Orleans when he worked the overnight shift as a news writer on WWL-TV's highly successful morning show. Trahan's on-air sports career began at WCBD-TV in Charleston, South Carolina, and included a return to New Orleans for a nine-year stint at WVUE-TV where he was named sports director.
 
High School Coach of the Year – Dave Henigan, Denton Ryan
In his seventh year at the helm, Dave Henigan led his undefeated Denton Ryan team (15-0) to the Class 5A Division I state title in 2020 with leadership from his son, Seth, the team's starting quarterback. The State Championship win capped an amazing six-year run for Coach Henigan and the Ryan Raiders. During that time, Henigan has led the program to an 85-5 record, six-straight district titles and a 59-game regular-season win streak. The Raiders have appeared in five state semifinal games and consecutive state title games in 2019 and 2020. This past season, the team was ranked No. 1 in Class 5A Division I from start to finish. Before becoming a head coach, Henigan was the offensive coordinator for the 2002 State Championship Ryan Raider team. He then served as head coach at both Grapevine and Corsicana High Schools for five years each before rejoining the Ryan High school program in 2014.