still remain as the field reached the round of 16.  The 14 schools with I-AA football programs went 7-12, with just Villanova and Georgetown advancing past the first round.

Former Gridders Headline NCAA’s “100 Most Influential” list

The NCAA selected 36 former college football players and coaches for their “100 Most Influential Student-Athletes” list released last week.  The NCAA defined those selected for the list as having made a major impact or significant contribution to society.  Included among the 100 honored are:

· 12 former winners of the NFF’s Gold Medal: George H.W. Bush, William Campbell, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Thomas Hamilton, Jack Kemp, William Lawrence, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Norman Schwarzkopf and Byron “Whizzer” White

· Four former NFF Distinguished American Award recipients: Jerome “Bud” Holland, Vince Lombardi, Alan Page and Joe Paterno

· 11 members of the College Football Hall of Fame: Harold “Red” Grange, Archie Griffin, Holland, Page, Walter Payton, Paul Robeson, Eddie Robinson, Knute Rockne, Roger Staubach, Jim Thorpe and White

Rockne Statue to Grace Legendary Coaches’ Hometown

A statute of legendary football coach Knute Rockne will be unveiled in the former Notre Dame head coach’s hometown of Voss, Norway, on March 31, marking the 75th anniversary of Rockne’s death in a plane crash.  The 700-pound, 7-foot-1-inch statue, sculpted by Jerry McKenna, will grace the shores of a lake in Voss with the Rockne family farm in the background.  A duplicate statue of the 1951 College Football Hall of Fame inductee stands outside the Hall in South Bend, Ind.

College Football Hall of Famer Bill Hartman dies at 91