National Football Foundation

For someone who planned on being an electrician, Carl Barzilauskas turned out to be a pretty good football player.
 
In high school, Carl intended to forgo a college education and become an electrician, but an uncle talked him into getting his college degree. Despite hailing from Waterbury, Conn., Barzilauskas attended Indiana University and later became the sixth pick in the first round of the 1974 National Football League draft by the New York Jets. Even today, Carl still holds the distinction of being the highest NFL draft choice ever taken from Indiana University.
 
A 6'6", 278-pound defensive lineman for the Hoosiers from 1970-1973, Carl led the team in tackles as a junior, and managed to play his entire senior season despite a broken foot.
 
Quick for a big man, Barzilauskas immediately became a starter on the defensive line for the Jets. He was named the 1974 NFL Rookie Defensive Lineman of the Year. He played a total of five seasons with the Jets and played two additional years with the Green Bay Packers, when a neck injury forced him to retire in 1980.
 
Barzilauskas took the reigns as president of the Central Indiana Chapter of The National Football Foundation during its inception in 1995 and hasn't looked back. The chapter's many endeavors include a highly successful scholar-athlete banquet, support of multiple Play It Smart programs in Indianapolis and the staging of the Midwest Region's largest NFL/NFF Coaching Academy. The chapter has successfully teamed with all the football playing colleges and universities within their jurisdiction as well as the Indianapolis Colts to reach out to the football community throughout the central portion of Indiana.
 
In 2000, Barzilauskas received the prestigious Joe Boland Award for service to youth from the Indiana Sports Writers and Sportscasters Association. Additionally, he was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame that same year.
 
A long-time member and current president of the Indiana NFL Players Association, he created the Indiana NFLPA Foundation to help support numerous charitable causes.
 
A successful business leader, Barzilauskas owns several health care companies, including JMC Inc., Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy and First Health Care. He also owns Small Town Properties, a real-estate company in Bloomington, as well as two Colorado Steakhouse Restaurants, one in Bloomington and one in Indianapolis.
 
Carl and his wife Cathi live in Nashville, Ind., and he has one son, Bo.