National Football Foundation

The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame saluted the thousands of student-athletes who have played football at the nation’s military academies over the years by honoring one representative of each branch as a co-recipient of the 2015 NFF Distinguished American Award.

A three-year letterman on the U.S. Air Force Academy football team, Jared Tew says his greatest moment as a Falcon was winning the 2009 Armed Forces Bowl in his junior year. The Park City, Utah, native rushed for an academy bowl record 173 yards and two touchdowns in the 47-20 win over Houston, tying a school record for the longest touchdown run in a bowl game (71).

A two-year starter, Tew led Air Force to a 25-14 record, while rushing for 1,897 yards and 17 touchdowns on 416 carries in his career. In 2009, he was named Second Team All-Mountain West after rushing for a team-leading 970 yards, which ranked third in the conference.

Tew had his most success in bowl games, rushing for a total of 381 yards and five touchdowns in three postseason appearances. He ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns in the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl, and he was named the game’s offensive MVP. Tew also earned offensive MVP honors in the 2010 Independence Bowl after scoring a fourth-quarter touchdown to secure the Falcons’ 14-7 win over Georgia Tech.

He earned a B.S. in Business Management from Air Force in 2011, and he has served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force since graduation. Tew was ranked as the No. 1 wingman in the 35th Fighter Squadron during a one-year deployment at the Kunsan Air Base in Korea. He is currently flying the F-16 Fightin’ Falcon at the Aviano Air Base in Italy.

“Football has provided me a foundation for my career and personal life as I learned principles of hard work, teamwork, commitment and dedication,” Tew wrote upon learning he would be accepting the 2015 NFF Distinguished American Award. “The life lessons and character building we developed together as a team could not have been duplicated elsewhere.  I am a better person and owe much of who I am today to the opportunity I had to participate in the sport of football.”