The Blitz
NFF Board Member and Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby will take part in a Knight Commission panel May 1 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Click here for more information and the rest of the panelists.
The New Orleans Recreation Development Foundation will host its inaugural Champions Gala on April 11 honoring longtime supporter Peyton Manning, a 2017 College Football Hall of Fame electee and the 1997 Campbell Trophy winner from Tennessee.
College Football Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz and 2009 NFF Gold Medal recipient and NIKE co-founder Phil Knight will serve as guest coaches for Ohio State’s spring game on April 15.
College Football Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden has been selected as part of Samford University’s inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class.
College Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder has completed his cancer treatments and returned to the field at Kansas State.
NCAA Executive Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and 1981 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Oliver Luck (West Virginia) will address Executive Directors and other personnel at the Football Bowl Association’s annual meeting on April 18 in San Antonio.
2011 NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award recipient Verne Lundquist will speak as part of the 2017 PwC SMU Athletic Forum on April 13 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.
1990 Campbell Trophy winner Dr. Chris Howard (Air Force), now the president at Robert Morris University, was profiled by ESPN as he begins his first season as a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee.
Longtime Liberty Bowl executive director and 1985 NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award recipient Bud Dudley and recently-retired Rose Bowl Game executive director Bill Flinn were named the co-recipients of the Football Bowl Association’s 2017 Legacy Award.
NFF COO Matthew Sign, a former All-SWC noseguard at Rice, was honored April 7 as part of the Rice Owls Honor Jersey program during the annual Blue-Gray spring game. His teammate and College Football Hall of Fame candidate, Trevor Cobb, was also honored. They will also be honored at a game this fall.
NFF Program Updates
The NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Day, presented by Fidelity Investments, is a daily segment honoring the semifinalists for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments. Today’s honoree is Tarleton State (Texas) linebacker Cody Burtscher, who holds a 3.93 GPA in bio-medical science.
Over The Middle
The NFF Allstate Sugar Bowl Chapter will hold its 2017 Awards Luncheon in the St. Charles Club Room at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on April 12. Six of the student-athletes being honored will be selected to receive Allstate Sugar Bowl Scholarships for $10,000 each. NFF Chairman and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Manning (Ole Miss) will introduce each scholar-athlete at the event.
The NFF Utah Chapter’s scholar-athlete banquet is scheduled for April 12 at the UCCU Center on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
The NFF Pasadena/San Gabriel (Calif.) Chapter will host the Jim Brownfield Memorial Golf Tournament on April 14 at San Dimas Canyon Golf Course in San Dimas, Calif.
The NFF University of Georgia Chapter will hold its golf outing and awards banquet April 17 at the Athens Country Club in Athens, Ga.
The NFF Tom Lombardo/St. Louis Chapter will host its monthly luncheon on April 19 at Lombardo’s restaurant. The guest speaker will be Missouri head coach Barry Odom.
The NFF Texas Tech Chapter will host its scholar-athlete banquet April 19 at the Overton Hotel in Lubbock, Texas. The chapter will distribute $40,000 in scholarships.
The NFF Wisconsin Chapter’s scholar-athlete recognition will take place April 21 at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery in Madison prior to the Wisconsin spring game.
The NFF East Tennessee Chapter will hold its scholar-athlete awards brunch April 22 at The Foundry in Knoxville, Tenn., before Tennessee’s spring game. Former Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer will receive the 2017 Neyland Trophy while longtime North Carolina play-by-play announcer and 2011 NFF Chris Schenkel Award recipient Woody Durham will receive the Lindsey Nelson Broadcasting Award.
The NFF Central Indiana Chapter will hold its scholar-athlete banquet April 22 at the Colts practice facility in Indianapolis. New Indiana head coach Tom Allen will be the guest speaker.
The NFF National Capital (D.C.) Chapter will host its 11th annual scholar-athlete banquet April 23 at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va. The chapter will honor 45 high school and three collegiate scholar-athlete while distributing thousands of dollars in scholarships.
2016 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Carter Hanson (Saint John’s [Minn.]) will receive the 2017 Stein-Fallon Scholar-Athlete Award from the NFF Minnesota Chapter at the 10th annual Minnesota Football Awards, presented by the Minnesota Vikings, May 7 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Click here for more info on the Minnesota Football Awards.
Two-Minute Drill
Mascots
Amherst (Mass.) announced that its first official mascot will be the Mammoths…
Scheduling
The Mountain West announced its 2017 football national television package… Conference USA announced its television schedules for games appearing on ESPN and CBS Sports Network during the 2017 season… Wyoming announced future games against Arizona State and Northern Colorado… Michigan State added Tulsa to its 2019 schedule… Nevada completed its 2018 and 2019 non-conference schedules… Colorado State will play Northern Colorado in 2020… Eastern Washington and Western Illinois agreed to a home-and-home series in 2020 and 2021…
Obituaries
Former Texas Tech head coach and Stephen F. Austin player Spike Dykes passed away April 10. He was 79… Former Newberry (S.C.) football player Thad Ott passed away April 3. He was 93… Former Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) football player Ken Ficery passed away April 4. He was 80… Former Pittsburg State (Kan.) football player and longtime high school football coach Doug Potts passed away April 4. He was 79… Former Texas at Arlington running back Derrick Jensen passed away April 7. He was 60… Former Hardin-Simmons (Texas) football player Ken Watson passed away April 7. He was 86…
