2016 Campbell Trophy® winner Zach Terrell (Western Michigan)

On Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 11 a.m. ET, the NFF will announce the finalists for the 2017 William V. Campbell Trophy®, presented by Fidelity Investments and prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club. The trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. Each finalist will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments.

 

The finalists will travel to New York City for the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 28th Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000. The finalists are selected from the 181 candidates who were nominated by their schools in 2017 as the best all-around student-athletes on their respective teams.

The NFF proudly announces the release of its exciting new book, Lessons from Legends: 12 Hall of Fame Coaches on Leadership, Life, and Leaving a Legacy. The book is available now and can be purchased by clicking here.

Lessons from Legends may be the greatest collection of college football knowledge ever assembled. With over 260 years, 2,100 wins, 95 conference titles and 13 National Championships of combined coaching experience, any football fan, coach or player can learn from the wealth of wisdom contained in these pages.

The book features Q&As with 12 College Football Hall of Fame coaches as they discuss their careers, the lessons they learned and specific features or topics that marked their careers. The Hall of Fame coaches involved are Barry Alvarez, Mike Bellotti, Marino Casem, Fisher DeBerry, Terry Donahue, Vince Dooley, Phillip Fulmer, Frank Girardi, Tom Osborne, R.C. Slocum, Steve Spurrier and Barry Switzer.

With a foreword by former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and quotes from College Football Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning and Danny Wuerffel, and from Washington head coach Chris Petersen, this book has an unmatched combination of football talent.

	NFF COO Matthew Sign with Mike Ruth

2017 College Football Hall of Fame electee Mike Ruth (Boston College) was honored Oct. 27 with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the Eagles' game against Florida State.

A consensus First Team All-American and the recipient of the 1985 Outland Trophy as the most outstanding interior lineman in the nation, Ruth led the Eagles to three bowl games, including a win in the 1985 Cotton Bowl against Houston. Click here to read more about Ruth. During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each inductee returns to his alma mater or school where they coached to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will remain on permanent display at the institution. Ruth will officially be inducted during the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the New York Hilton Midtown on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The event will be streamed live on ESPN3.

The NFF would like to thank Boston College Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond, Fidelity Investments Senior Vice President Thomas McGirr and NFF COO Matthew Sign for taking part in the on-field presentation.

2017 College Football Hall of Fame electee Coach Danny Ford was honored Oct. 28 with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during Clemson's game against Georgia Tech.

The youngest coach in college football history to win a national championship, Ford was only 33 when he led Clemson to a perfect 12-0 season in 1981 after defeating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The head coach at Clemson from 1978-89 and Arkansas from 1993-97, he won 66.9 percent of his games while amassing a 122-59-5 overall record. Click here to read more about Ford. During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each inductee returns to his alma mater or school where they coached to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will remain on permanent display at the institution. Ford will officially be inducted during the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the New York Hilton Midtown on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The event will be streamed live on ESPN3.

The NFF would like to thank Fidelity Investments Chief Financial Officer, Personal Investing Business, Jeff Devolder and NFF Director of External Relations Will Rudd for taking part in the on-field presentation. Above, L-R: Devolder, Rudd, Ford, Ford's wife, Deborah, and daughter, Elizabeth. (Photo by Dawson Powers.)

The NFF will celebrate its 70 th  anniversary over the next  several weeks  by highlighting the key milestones of each decade in a weekly email with the content also promoted in its social media channels. The campaign will take a year-by-year look at some of the key events that have shaped the organization, distributing seven weekly releases covering each of the NFF's 10-year periods.

Below are highlights from the NFF's second decade: 1957-1966. Click here or on the image below to view as a larger PDF.

As part of its "I'm A Football Player®" initiative, the NFF is producing a series of graphics to be distributed through social media every Tuesday and Thursday this fall, highlighting former college football players that have experienced success off the field. From Fortune 500 CEOs, to lawyers and doctors, to coaches and teachers and all other walks of life, our goal is to showcase everyone who has benefited from the game of football, sharing their stories across the nation. 

Click here to view all of the past  "I'm A Football Player®" profiles. 

If you, or someone you know, would like to take part and share a football story, please email us at: [email protected].

The Rose Bowl Game® presented by Northwestern Mutual, in conjunction with the National Football Foundation, will honor coaches with its "Coaches Making a Difference" contest. Now through December 4, individuals can nominate a high school coach that has made a difference in the lives of student-athletes in their community. The grand prize winner will receive a trip to the "Granddaddy of Them All," the Rose Bowl Game, on January 1, 2018. This year's game will play host to a College Football Playoff Semifinal and feature two of the top teams in college football.

Coaches can be nominated for the contest by filling out a nomination form  online . A panel of representatives from the Tournament of Roses and the National Football Foundation will select the six winners which will include one grand prize winner and five finalist winners.

Six finalists and a grand prize winner will be announced at 12 p.m. PT on December 8.

Alabama remained No. 1 45-of-48 first-place votes in the Week 9 FWAA-NFF Super 16 Poll. Georgia, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Clemson round out the top five in the poll, in which voters rank the top 16 FBS teams.

 

The results of the poll will be released every Sunday of the 2017 season and the individual votes of all members will also be made public. The final poll will be released Dec. 3. The pollsters consist of FWAA writers and College Football Hall of Famers.

The  NFF Arkansas Chapter/Little Rock Touchdown Club 's  2017 speaker series will continue  with Central Arkansas head coach Steve Campbell on Nov. 6.

The NFF Arkansas Chapter/Little Rock Touchdown Club will host its Southwest Conference Hall of Fame induction ceremony and luncheon Oct. 30 at the Embassy Suites Little Rock. Members of the induction class include two late College Football Hall of Famers from Arkansas: Ronnie Caveness and Wear Schoonover. Other former Razorback football players to be inducted are Jim Benton, Joe Ferguson, Steve Little, Fred Marshall, Billy Ray Smith Sr. and Dennis Winston.

The Touchdown Club of Atlanta-NFF Chapter will host a luncheon on Nov. 6 at 103 West in Atlanta featuring former Oklahoma State and LSU head coach and current FOX Sports broadcaster Les Miles.

Fred Miller, a former Pacific (Calif.) football player and athletics director at Long Beach State, Arizona State and San Diego State, passed away Oct. 22. He was 86... Former Midland (Neb.) football coach and athletics director Don Watchorn passed away Oct. 20. He was 91... Former West Chester (Pa.) football player  Chuck Weber passed away Oct. 22. He was  87... Former Western Michigan quarterback Chad Munson passed away Oct. 25. He was 36... Norfolk State football player Nicholas Ackies died Oct. 27. He was 18... Former Western Michigan offensive lineman Paul Hutchins died. He was 47... Former Northern Iowa football player Jaz Granderson died. He was 27...

More News of Interest

This past weekend marked the 95th anniversary of the first football game played at the Rose Bowl, and stadium officials are using that to kick off a five-year fundraising campaign leading up to the 100th birthday of the historic venue. The campaign is titled "Inspire" and the goal is to raise $40 million privately, although the first $10 million came in the form of a major gift last month. The website dedicated to the effort is Inspire2022.org... Southeastern Oklahoma State and NFF-partner Under Armour announced a new partnership agreement... The College Football Playoff Foundation has partnered with the Sun Belt Conference to offer New Orleans teachers the opportunity to participate in the Science of Sport education program...

Nov. 1, 2017  -  Announcement of the 2017 William V. Campbell Trophy® finalists, who comprise the 2017 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments - Via Press Release

Dec. 3, 2017 - Release of the Final FWAA-NFF Super 16 Poll for the 2017 season - Via Press Release

 

Dec. 4, 2017  - Ivy League's Asa S. Bushnell Cup Announcement, presented by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, at the New York Hilton Midtown - New  York City

 

Dec. 5, 2017  - NFF Annual Awards Press Conference at the New York Hilton Midtown - New York City (Streamed live on ESPN3, starting at 10 a.m. ET)

 

Dec. 5, 2017  - NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon, presented by Under Armour, at the New York Hilton Midtown - New York City

 

Dec. 5, 2017  - 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the New York Hilton Midtown - New York City, including the induction of the 2017 College Football Hall of Fame Class and the 28th presentation of The William V. Campbell Trophy®, presented by Fidelity Investments and prominently displayed at the New York Athletic Club.  (Streamed live on ESPN3, starting at 8 p.m. ET)

 

Dec. 6, 2017 - Campbell Trophy® Luncheon at the New York Athletic Club - New York City

 

Jan. 1, 2018 - The 13th Annual NFF National Hall of Fame Salute during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl - Atlanta, Ga.

 

Jan. 8, 2018 - Announcement of the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame Class during festivities prior to College Football Playoff National Championship - Atlanta, Ga.

 

Jan. 8, 2018 - College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, Ga.