Steve Hatchell,
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NFF Chalktalk - March 14, 2017
The NFF experienced another exceptionally successful year in implementing our efforts to demonstrate that Football Matters®, culminating with another sold-out crowd gathering in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City on Dec. 6, 2016, for the 59th NFF Annual Awards Dinner.
 
The latest Footballetter is a collection of photos of those honored and those who paid tribute to the honorees by attending the event that night. This issue also features photos from several other National Football Foundation-related events surrounding the 2016 college football season, including the National Hall of Fame Salute at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the CFP National Championship in Tampa, Fla.
March - St. Patrick's Day Special:   The College Football Hall of Fame is celebrating St. Patrick's Day for the entire month of March. Wear your official team gear that is green to get into the Hall for just $17.99 from March 1-31. 

About the College Football Hall of Fame: The Hall opened its doors Aug. 23, 2014, in the heart of Atlanta's sports, entertainment and tourism district. Adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park, the new Hall provides visitors with a highly immersive, interactive and engaging experience using a blend of historic college football artifacts and state-of-the-art, interactive multimedia exhibits. To plan your visit and purchase tickets, visit  www.cfbhall.com .
Check out FootballMatters.org, the NFF's home for storytelling that promotes the power of amateur football. Recent headlines on the site include:
Quote of the Week
The Blitz

Former Air Force running back and current Robert Morris University president Dr. Chris Howard, the inaugural recipient of the William V. Campbell Trophy in 1990, was recently presented with his Campbell Trophy ring. In honor of the late Bill Campbell, Howard decided to hold the ceremony at Steel Valley Senior High School, which is in the same school district as the old Homestead High School where Campbell played football. In attendance were Herff Jones' Jeff Parker, former Eastern Michigan and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch and the Steel Valley High School football team. Howard chronicled the event in an article for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

NFF Board Member, 2007 NFF Gold Medal recipient and 1981 College Football Hall of Fame inductee  Roger Staubach  (Navy) claimed the Legends Award from the Maxwell Football Club at their 80th Annual Awards Gala in Atlantic City on March 10. College Football Hall of Fame inductee Steve Spurrier was recognized with the organization's Contributions to the Game Award. Other college honorees in attendance included Alabama Coach Nick Saban (College Coach of the Year), Pittsburgh RB James Conner (Spirit Award), Iowa State DE Mitchell Myers (Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award), Penn State QB Trace McSorley (Tri-State Player of the Year) and Louisville QB Lamar Jackson (80th Annual Maxwell Award).

The SEC, led by commissioner and NFF Board Member Greg Sankeydonated $100,000 to LSU to assist employees who suffered and continue to suffer loss from the devastating floods in 2016.

2017 College Football Hall of Fame electee Adrian Peterson (Georgia Southern) inspires kids to overcome adversity.

College Football Hall of Fame coach Pat Dye received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Auburn University for his outstanding achievements in his professional life, personal integrity and stature, and service to the university.

College Football Hall of Famer Danny White is returning to his alma mater Arizona State as a consultant and ambassador for the football program.

College Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson (Purdue) was promoted to cornerbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders.

College Football Hall of Famer and 1987 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Gordie Lockbaum (Holy Cross) will be inducted into the Eastern College Athletic Conference Hall of Fame April 28. NFF Board Member Jack Ford will emcee the induction ceremony, which will take place at the Matrix Conference & Banquet Center in Danbury, Conn.

College Football Hall of Famer Willie Roaf (Louisiana Tech) has founded a new company, Frame Your Game, which boasts a unique range of patented license plate frames in the form of baseball caps and football helmets.

2013 Campbell Trophy winner John Urschel (Penn State), currently a doctoral candidate at MIT and an offensive lineman with the Baltimore Ravens, delivered a lecture at the University of Delaware on March 10. His talk, "Trace Theorems and Drawings of Planar Graphs," was part of the UD Department of Mathematical Sciences' seminar series in discrete mathematics.

2003 NFF Distinguished American Award recipient and former Ole Miss Chancellor Dr. Robert Khayat was named the recipient of CoSIDA's 2017 Dick Enberg Award.

2011 NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award recipient and recently retired broadcaster Brent Musburger will be honored with a Sports Emmy lifetime achievement award during the annual sports Emmy Awards on May 9 in New York.

2014 NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award recipient and sports marketing pioneer Jim Host was recently profiled in an article by his alma mater, Kentucky.


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  St. John Fisher (N.Y.) cornerback Alec Mortillaro, who maintains a 3.42 GPA in physics.
Over The Middle
The NFF Toledo (Ohio) Chapter held its 55th annual scholar-athlete banquet March 6. As part of its tradition, the chapter's scholar-athlete honorees visited a local children's hospital. They were accompanied this year by College Football Hall of Fame linebacker and current Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was the guest speaker at the event. Click here for photos of their visit to the hospital.

The NFF Mike Cleary/Northeastern Ohio Chapter held its scholar-athlete banquet on March 7, honoring 25 high school scholar-athletes and awarding 12 postgraduate scholarships.

2 017 College Football Hall of Fame electee Coach Larry Kehres (center) from Mount Union (Ohio) is congratulated at the NFF Mike Cleary/Northeastern Ohio Chapter banquet by Hall of Fame coaches Fred Martinelli (Ashland [Ohio]) and Jim Tressel (Youngstown State, Ohio State).

The NFF Mike Cleary/Northeastern Ohio Chapter presented its inaugural "I'm A Football Mom" Award to the mothers of Midview High School. The award is based on the NFF's national "I'm A Football Mom" campaign.

The NFF Greater Morris County (N.J.) Chapter will hold its scholar-athlete banquet on March 16 at the Madison Hotel in Morristown, N.J.

The NFF S.M. McNaughton (La.) Chapter will host a tennis tournament March 17-19 at East Ridge Country Club in Shreveport, La.

The NFF Wyoming Chapter's scholar-athlete banquet is scheduled for March 18 at the Marian Rochelle Gateway Center on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie. Wyoming head coach  Craig Bohl and  former Wyoming and NFL offensive lineman Adam Goldberg will be the guest speakers. 

The NFF South Jersey Chapter will hold its scholar-athlete banquet March 19 at Carriage House in Galloway, N.J. The chapter will present $500 scholarships to 22 scholar-athletes.

The NFF Riverside County (Calif.) Chapter's 13th annual scholar-athlete banquet will take place March 19 at the Country Club at Soboba Springs in San Jacinto, Calif.

The NFF Orange County (Calif.) Chapter will host its 47th annual scholar-athlete banquet March 20 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The NFF Pasadena/San Gabriel (Calif.) Chapter will hold its scholar-athlete banquet March 21 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, Calif.

The NFF Tom Lombardo/St. Louis Chapter will host its monthly luncheon on March 29 at Lombardo's restaurant. The guest speaker will be Mel Tjeerdsma, the former head football coach and current athletics director at Northwest Missouri State.

The NFF Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter will host its annual Coaches Clinic at Boston College on April 1. The event is open to all high school coaches in Massachusetts. Speakers at the clinic will include Trinity (Conn.) defensive coordinator Lewis Acquarulo, Boston College head coach Steve Addazio, Boston College athletics director Brad BatesTufts (Mass.) head coach Jay Civetti, Boston College offensive line coach Justin Frye, Harvard head coach Tim Murphy, Dartmouth defensive backs coach Danny O'Dea and Boston College defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni. Click here for more information.
Two-Minute Drill
New Football Schools

Alvernia (Pa.), which will begin its inaugural season in 2018,  hopes to announce its new institutional nickname and athletics mascot by mid-June...

Scheduling

Arkansas will open the 2018 season against Eastern Illinois, play Colorado State in 2018 and 2019 as a Power Five opponent and host Tulsa in 2018 and Georgia Southern in 2021... Oregon State and Fresno State have scheduled a home-and-home series for 2022 and 2024... Kansas State added Nevada and Southern Illinois to its 2021 schedule... Tulane added Auburn and Missouri State to its 2019 schedule... Kentucky will play Murray State in 2018... Bowling Green will play at Ohio State in 2020... South Alabama added future games with Jackson State, Grambling State and Western Illinois... Montana State added future games with Wagner, Wyoming and Oregon State... The San Diego County Credit Union has agreed to become the Holiday Bowl's new title sponsor...

Obituaries

Former Penn State football player Harry Settino passed away March 3. He was 84... Former Tennessee football player Mickey Marvin passed away March 6. He was 61... Longtime Delaware equipment manager Bill Cooper passed away March 7. He was 80... Former Clemson football player Dr. Frank Gillespie passed away March 8. He was 94... Former Kentucky State football player Ezzrett "Sugarfoot" Anderson passed away March 8. He was 97... Former Central Michigan linebacker Bill Banaszak passed away March 10...
Support The NFF
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Each year, the NFF invites universities, colleges, conferences and bowl games from across the country to provide support for NFF programs through its Institutional Academic Membership Program. The program allows the NFF to greatly enhance the power of football's collective voice while actively building a stronger national platform for the game with community leaders, educators and the media.

Click here to see all of the 2016 NFF Institutional Academic Members.
2003 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Eli Manning (Mississippi), a member of the Alumni Association.
2016 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association 

Since 1959, the National Football Foundation has annually recognized the best and brightest college players, presenting them with prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments. The $18,000 postgraduate scholarships are presented at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York City. 

Launched in 2008, the NFF Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association provides a powerful vehicle for past honorees to remain in the vanguard of the NFF's present efforts. 

Click here to see all of the members of the 2016 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association.
NFF Key Dates
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. 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
 
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.

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 - College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, Ga. 
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The NFF would like to thank NFF correspondent Bo Carter for his contributions to this report.
 
NFF Chalktalk items are welcome and should be sent to news@footballfoundation.com
 
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