NFF Gold Medal Recipients
Biography
Victor J. Glover Jr., a pioneering astronaut, decorated naval aviator and former Cal Poly football player, has built a remarkable career grounded in the teamwork, discipline and perseverance instilled in him as a Mustang student-athlete.
In April 2026, Glover helped lead humanity back to the Moon for the first time in more than half a century, serving as pilot of NASA's historic Artemis II mission aboard the Orion spacecraft Integrity. Launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the nearly 10-day mission carried the crew around the Moon and 252,756 miles from Earth at its farthest point before splashing down safely off the coast of San Diego. In making the journey, Glover became the first Black person to travel to the vicinity of the Moon while helping the team set a new record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth.
The historic journey marked another milestone in Glover's extraordinary career, which began as a multi-sport athlete at Ontario High School in Southern California. A standout in football, wrestling and track and field, Glover earned the school's Athlete of the Year Award as a senior in 1994.
His athletic and academic accomplishments led him to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where he balanced the demands of earning an engineering degree with competing as a Division I student-athlete in both the Mustangs' football and wrestling programs.
As a defensive back, he wore No. 23 for Cal Poly under head football coach Andre Patterson, who went on to spend more than two decades coaching in the NFL. In an interview with The New York Times, Patterson remembered Glover for his meticulous approach and determination to master technique, and Glover has repeatedly credited his experiences as a college athlete with helping prepare him for the extraordinary challenges that followed.
His experiences wrestling under longtime Cal Poly coach Lennis Cowell proved particularly formative. While aboard the International Space Station, Glover famously compared two of the most physically and mentally demanding experiences of his life, saying the hardest thing he had ever chosen to do was walk in space and the second hardest was wrestling practice under Cowell.
After graduating from Cal Poly in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in general engineering, Glover embarked on an extraordinary career in the United States Navy. He earned his wings as a naval aviator in 2001 and flew the F/A-18C Hornet, deploying aboard the USS John F. Kennedy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He later graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and conducted flight tests of advanced military aircraft and weapon systems. Over his naval career, Glover accumulated more than 4,000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft, completed more than 400 carrier-arrested landings and flew 24 combat missions.
His pursuit of education continued throughout his military career. In addition to his Cal Poly engineering degree, Glover earned master's degrees in flight test engineering, systems engineering and military operational art and science. In 2012, he was selected as a Legislative Fellow and served in the United States Senate before NASA selected him the following year as one of eight members of its 21st astronaut class.
After completing astronaut candidate training, Glover was selected to pilot SpaceX's Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft, Resilience, on the first operational Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station. During the 2020–21 mission, he made history as the first Black astronaut to serve on a long-duration mission aboard the station, spending 168 days in space as a flight engineer for Expeditions 64 and 65. He completed four spacewalks while participating in scientific research, maintenance and outreach activities aboard the station.
NASA selected Glover in 2023 to pilot Artemis II, placing the former college football player at the controls of one of the most consequential missions in modern space exploration. Combined with his Crew-1 and Artemis II missions, Glover has accumulated 178 days in space.
His accomplishments have earned some of the nation's highest military and civilian honors, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, NASA Distinguished Service Medal and NASA Space Exploration Medal. In 2026, he received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. He has also received distinguished alumni recognition from the Naval Postgraduate School and honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Howard University and Cal Poly.
In September 2026, following his retirement from the Navy and transition to NASA emeritus status, Glover returned full time to Cal Poly in a senior leadership role, advising the university on strategic initiatives, partnerships and programs while helping inspire the next generation of students.
