National Football Foundation

A successful business owner for more than 40 years, John Barzizza has greatly expanded the success and impact of the NFF Memphis Chapter.
 
After graduating from Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Barzizza earned a bachelor’s in marketing from Regis University in Denver in 1969. A career businessman, he started Southwestern Distributing Co. with his brother in 1969. Barzizza became the company’s president in 1977 before retiring in 2012 after 43 years in the wholesale wine, spirits and beer business. A United States Navy Reservist from 1969-75, he previously served on the board of directors for the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.
 
Barzizza started volunteering for the Liberty Bowl in 1977, and he was elected to its board in 1984, serving in various offices and as committee chair for numerous events. A member of the Liberty Bowl executive committee since 1995, he served as president in 2000 and then as chairman in 2001.
 
A member of the Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame, Barzizza is an active member of the school’s alumni association and served on its board of directors from 1993-2002. He is also a member of the Memphis Quarterback Club and the Memphis Touchdown Club, and he serves as a board member of Shelby Residential and Vocational Services, a non-profit that helps those with disabilities.
 
Since joining the NFF Memphis Chapter in 1984, Barzizza has played an integral role in the chapter’s success. He served as president 1999, and he has served as the chapter’s executive director since 2009. The Memphis Chapter holds its annual black tie scholar-athlete banquet the first Monday of May, where 11 high school and two college football players in the area are recognized and given scholarships based on athletics, academics and community service. All 13 scholar-athletes receive partial scholarships, and the scholarship donors make the presentations. The chapter has also hosts a golf tournament to help fund chapter initiatives.
 
“Due to knee problems as a child and young adult, I was not active as a football player but always knew that football builds discipline and character in men, and if applied, that work ethic on the field can translate to discipline and success in the classroom,” said Barzizza. “I learned quite quickly from the really great Memphis Chapter Board the mission of the NFF and the dedication of the chapter in presenting the best of the best young men who excelled on the field, classroom, in the community and in endeavors outside of football. Many of the most successful young men I have encountered in the 35 plus years who were our Memphis Chapter’s scholar-athlete winners truly characterize the mission of the NFF.
 
“I have seen just how understanding and supportive the Memphis Chapter Board is of the mission of the organization and for that I am very proud of each and every member of our board, for it is them who all should be getting the accolades”.
 
Barzizza and his wife, Wanda, live in Germantown, Tenn., and have five children and three grandsons. A fan of Alabama football and the Memphis Tigers, he coached youth sports for nine years.