National Football Foundation

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Arizona Cardinals President Michael Bidwill have been named co-inductees into the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame. They will be honored together Jan. 7 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix during an affair that will serve as a kickoff event leading up to the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship, which will take place Jan. 11 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

The Jan. 7 event marks the continuation of a tradition that began with the inaugural CFP National Championship last year, and each year the NFF will stage an NFF Leadership Hall of Fame induction as part of the kickoff celebration in the title game’s host city. The next championship game will be played in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 9, 2017, and the NFF will stage a Leadership Hall of Fame induction on Jan. 5, 2017.

Michael Bidwill joined the Cardinals in 1996 after six years as a federal prosecutor in Phoenix. Since he took over as team President in 2007, the Cardinal have gone .500 or better in six of eight seasons (just twice in previous 20 years) and have posted three double-digit win seasons (none in previous 20 years). The 2015 Cardinals are currently 7-2 and in position to add to those impressive totals. 

Bidwill notably spearheaded the effort that led to the creation of University of Phoenix Stadium where the Cardinals have sold out every game played since it opened in 2006. The iconic, award-winning stadium has been a major factor in the transformation of the Cardinals and a catalyst for the team’s success. It also hosted its second Super Bowl this past February as well as the 2015 Pro Bowl a week before. Bidwill was influential in landing both events which combined to deliver an economic impact of $720 million to the region. 

Bidwill has taken on an increasing role in the NFL and the greater Phoenix business community. In addition to serving on four NFL committees - Business Ventures, Stadium, NFL Foundation and Workplace Diversity – he chairs the Security and Fan Conduct Committee and last December was tapped by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to chair the league’s new Conduct Committee. 

Locally, he is co-chair of the Arizona Zanjeros, a nonprofit business leadership group founded by Governor Ducey to promote the state, past chairman of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and serves on the boards of the Arizona Commerce Authority, Greater Phoenix Leadership, Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee and the Pat Tillman Foundation. Bidwill earned a B.S. in Finance from St. Louis University and a law degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. where last May he was awarded an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters and delivered the school’s commencement address 25 years after his own graduation.