Howie Vandersea, the former NFF Northeast Regional Coordinator, a 2008 NFF Chapter Leadership Award recipient and the former head coach at Springfield College (MA) and Bowdoin College (ME), passed away Dec. 29. He was 81.
 
"Nobody loved the game of football more than Howie Vandersea, and he dedicated his life to making the game better for the next generation, " said NFF President and CEO Steve Hatchell. "Howie excelled as a player in college at Bates, and he went on to impact countless players during the next three decades as a coach. During his lifetime, he became a forceful advocate for the NFF and our mission, and he has left an incredible legacy in the Northeast Region of the country. We are eternally grateful, and at this time of loss our thoughts and prayers are with wife Sara Jean, their children and grandchildren and all who he mentored and touched during his lifetime."
 
An active member of the NFF for more than 45 years, Vandersea founded the State of Maine Chapter in 1988, and he became the NFF Northeast Regional Coordinator in 2001. When he stepped down as chapter president, the board decided to recognize his contributions by renaming the outpost as the Howard Vandersea State of Maine Chapter. In 2008, the NFF presented him with an NFF Chapter Leadership Award at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
 
"It's been a joy and an honor to have been associated with the NFF," said Vandersea when the NFF honored him in 2008. "The growth of our chapter has served amateur football in Maine very well. The associations and friendships I have developed with the Northeast chapter leaders have been very rewarding."
 
Howie's commitment to education and learning began at Northbridge (Mass) High School where he captained the football team and played basketball, and baseball. He attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, becoming a four-year starter and captain for the Bobcats. He earned All-New England honors twice, and All-Maine accolades three times at linebacker and center and was named to the 1962 Williamson All-America team. A testament to his all-around athletic prowess, he also started all four years for the baseball team.
 
After graduating from Bates with a B.A. in history in 1963, Howie began coaching football at Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine. He interrupted his coaching career to enlist in the U.S. Army. He served two and a half years as an infantry-airborne officer, rising to the rank of 1st Lieutenant. After his military service, he taught and coached at Long Branch High in New Jersey for a short time, and then earned a master's of education from Boston University while serving as a graduate assistant football coach. During this time, he was invited twice to try out for the Chicago Bears, and he was a player and assistant coach for several semi-pro teams.
 
After his graduation from Boston University, Vandersea began a coaching career that would span four decades, including stints as an assistant coach at Tufts and Brown and then as head coach at Springfield College for eight years and at Bowdoin College 16 years, winning seven Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Championships. Several of Vandersea's players went on to achieve successful careers in coaching, including current Harvard head coach Tim Murphy. He also coached 1990 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Mark Katz and 1993 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Michael P. Turmelle at Bowdoin.
 
Vandersea numerous awards include the Carens Award for Contribution to New England Football, the Citation of Honor from the Football Writers Association of America and the All-American Football Association's John Vaught Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Northbridge (MA) High School in 2003.
 
An avid film buff, Howie was a charter member of the John Ford Film Society. After retiring as a coach, Vandersea lived in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife of more than 50 years Sara Jean. They have two children, Deborah and Craig, and several grandchildren.