The Valley of the Sun Chapter was chartered in 1971 and is today one of the National Football Foundation's largest and most active chapters. Our stated mission is "To honor the traditions of the game of football at the amateur level; to recognize academic and athletic excellence as well as community-school achievements at the college, high school and youth levels; and to conduct programs that further the character-building qualities of the game and fulfill a demonstrated need, especially to the underserved population."
As a 501©(3) non-profit organization, we place great emphasis on education as it relates to effective, sports-based programming. We have been able to develop collaborative partnerships with other groups committed to promoting amateur football in Arizona where our combined efforts result in greater impact and a higher level of success. In a single sentence, our purpose is "Making athletics better for kids and making kids better through athletics."
The Scholar-Athlete Awards Program has been our signature event when we honor Arizona college and high school football players for their academic, athletic and leadership accomplishments.
In addition, each year we honor three adults who have made significant contributions to the game and have distinguished themselves in later life. At the national level, four individuals who have served as officers of the chapter have received the Foundation's prestigious Chapter Leadership Award.
Over the past decade, we have promoted the candidacies of deserving retired coaches and former All-America players for the College Football Hall of Fame.
TOPS Physicals is a program in which the chapter is involved in conjunction with the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association and a group of local doctors who provide free annual physical examinations at no charge to more than 1,900 high school boys and girls in all sports. The physicals are performed in a single day and include EKGs that help identify potentially serious medical problems if not treated at an early stage.
Because our mission is to promote amateur football at all levels, the chapter has assisted the Arizona Youth Football Federation, the largest Pop Warner organization in the country with 10,000 participants, in raising more than $20,000 to help cover operational expenses, purchase needed equipment and underwrite their mandatory coaches clinic.
The chapter holds an annual luncheon to honor the coaches of the state high school football champions, maintains its own website, publishes a quarterly chapter newsletter and has a 20-minute segment on a weekly radio sports talk show.
