National Football Foundation

For Bart Curtis, a 42-year career as a high school football coach and educator has gone hand in hand with a commitment to advancing the game and creating opportunities for young people throughout the Michiana community.
 
Curtis and his wife, Sara, began attending the NFF Moose Krause Chapter's annual banquet in 1998, and his involvement deepened after the chapter honored him with its Contributions to Football Award in 2006. Three years later, Curtis and fellow coach Bill Sharpe were asked to serve as liaisons between the chapter and local coaches, and Curtis subsequently joined the chapter's board.
 
A career educator, Curtis spent 36 of his 42 years in coaching as a head football coach at four different high schools. He also spent 15 years as a high school teacher and 22 years as an administrator. As a player, Curtis competed at NorthWood High School in Nappanee, Indiana, and at Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana.
 
Through the Moose Krause Chapter, Curtis has helped continue one of the region's great football traditions. Founded as the South Bend Chapter, the organization honored seven scholar-athletes at its inaugural banquet in 1974 and has since recognized more than 400 high school students for excellence in the classroom, on the football field and in their communities. The chapter annually honors approximately 25 scholar-athletes while also recognizing current and former coaches for their contributions to the game.
 
Over the past half century, the chapter has provided more than $1 million in scholarships, and today it awards six scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $2,500. Curtis takes particular pride in the annual banquet, now a Michiana tradition for more than five decades, and the opportunity it provides to celebrate deserving young people alongside their families, coaches and community.
 
Curtis and his wife of more than 36 years, Sara, have three children, Michael, Hannah and Brian, and three grandchildren, Kennedy, Isabelle and Oak.