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NFF Chapters Award $775,000
The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc.
Mar 8, 2006, 21:51

MORRISTOWN, N.J., Mar. 7, 2006 – More than 95 banquets throughout the country will honor high school and college football scholar-athletes during the 2005-2006 chapter banquet season, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today.

The NFF’s chapter network, spread across 119 regions in 46 states, annually recognizes over 3,000 high school and college football student-athletes while awarding $775,000 in scholarships at their banquets. Honorees are selected not only for outstanding achievement on the football field and in the classroom but for exemplary leadership and community service as well. Many chapter banquets also pay tribute to leaders within the football community, honoring them with Distinguished American Awards, Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Awards and Outstanding Football Official Awards.

“The scholar-athlete banquet season highlights the NFF’s mission of promoting this great game of football on the local level,” said NFF President Steven J. Hatchell. “These scholar-athletes are examples to their peers, having applied the lessons learned through football – discipline, teamwork, accountability - to all aspects of their life.”

Included among the highlights of this year’s banquet season are the 45th annual Schuylkill/Pottsville (Pa.) and Columbus (Ohio) chapter banquets; the 40th anniversaries of the King County (Seattle) chapter and the Middle Tennessee (Nashville) chapter; the 25th anniversary celebrations for the Miss/Lou (Natchez, Miss.) and the Valley of the Sun (Scottsdale, Ariz.) chapters; and the inaugural scholar-athlete banquets for both the Hudson Valley (N.Y.) and National Capital Region (Washington, DC) chapters. The NFF will also eclipse $10 million all-time awarded to high school and college scholar-athletes this year.

Nineteen banquets will be held on college campuses, including six on Big Ten university campuses (Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin). A half-dozen chapter banquets are expected to top 1,000 attendees, led by the Touchdown Club of Houston chapter banquet and the Portland (Ore.) scholar-athlete banquet. The Orange County (Calif.) chapter will recognize 81 scholar-athletes at their March 20 banquet, while the Wyoming chapter will extend honors to ten community leaders, including their Greatest High School Football Fans award and their Football Coach Career Achievement award, on March 18. At the March 19 Delaware Valley (NJ) chapter banquet, 31 student-athletes will receive $37,000 in scholarship awards.

The chapter banquet season kicked off last December 1 with the Nassau County and Suffolk County (NY) chapter banquets and concludes June 22 at the Northwest Indiana (West Lafayette) chapter scholar-athlete showcase, with just one exception: the University of Nebraska chapter will host their banquet in September 2006.

NFF CHAPTER BANQUETS 2006

Nassau County (N.Y.)  -  December 1, 2005

Suffolk County (N.Y.)  -  December 1, 2005

Western N.Y. (Buffalo)  -  December 12, 2005

Michigan (Detroit)  -  December 13, 2005

Portland (Ore.)  -  December 14, 2005

Mid-Michigan (East Lansing)  -  December 15, 2005

Inland Northwest (Spokane, Wash.)  -  January 16, 2006

TD Club of Houston  -  January 18, 2006

Clark County (Wash.)  -  January 18, 2006

Central N.Y.  -  January 29, 2006

Tacoma-Pierce (Wash.)  -  January 29, 2006

Westchester (N.Y.)  -  February 1, 2006

Columbus (Ohio)  -  February 8, 2006

Minnesota (Minneapolis)  -  February 12, 2006

Colorado (Denver)  -  February 13, 2006

Greater Cincinnati  -  February 16, 2006

Schuylkill/Pottsville (Pa.)  -  February 19, 2006

Lehigh Valley (Pa.)  -  February 19, 2006

Miss/Lou (Natchez, Miss.)  -  February 23, 2006

S.M. McNaughton (Shreveport, La.)  -  February 23, 2006

Northern California (San Francisco)  -  February 23, 2006

Valley of the Sun (Scottsdale, Ariz.)  -  February 25, 2006

South Jersey (Vineland)  -  March 5, 2006

Southern Arizona (Tucson)  -  March 5, 2006

King County (Wash.)  -  March 5, 2006

Auburn (Ala.)  -  March 6, 2006

Pasadena/San Gabriel (Calif.)  -  March 6, 2006

San Fernando Valley (Calif.)  -  March 7, 2006

Greater Baltimore  -  March 8, 2006

Sacramento Valley (Calif.)  -  March 8, 2006

Middle Tennessee (Nashville)  -  March 9, 2006

San Bernardino (Calif.)  -  March 9, 2006

Walter Zable (San Diego)  -  March 10, 2006

Los Angeles  -  March 10, 2006

Essex County (N.J.)  -  March 15, 2006

Toledo (Ohio)  -  March 15, 2006

Springfield (Ohio)  -  March 15, 2006

Central Indiana (Indianapolis)  -  March 18, 2006

Wyoming (Casper)  -  March 18, 2006

Delaware Valley (Trenton, N.J.)  -  March 19, 2006

Bill Denny (East Brunswick, N.J.)  -  March 19, 2006

Riverside County (Calif.)  -  March 19, 2006

Orange County (Calif.)  -  March 20, 2006

Tri-Cities (Johnson City, Tenn.)  -  March 21, 2006

Commonwealth (Richmond, Va.)  -  March 26, 2006

Gene J. Casey (New Haven, Conn.)  -  April 2, 2006

Western Mass. (Amherst)  -  April 4, 2006

Iowa (Des Moines)  -  April 8, 2006

East Tennessee (Knoxville)  -  April 8, 2006

Central Pa.  -  April 9, 2006

Passaic County (N.J.)  -  April 9, 2006

Ralph Desantis (Fairfield, Conn.)  -  April 13, 2006

Arkansas (Little Rock)  -  April 15, 2006

Texas Tech (Lubbock)  -  April 17, 2006

Sun Flower (Lawrence, Kan.)  -  April 19, 2006

Morris County (N.J.)  -  April 19, 2006

Tampa (Fla.)  -  April 19, 2006

Chicago Metro  -  April 20, 2006

Moose Krause (South Bend, Ind.)  -  April 20, 2006

Wisconsin (Madison)  -  April 22, 2006

Southern Idaho (Boise)  -  April 22, 2006

Southeastern Ohio (Athens)  -  April 23, 2006

Midlands (Columbia, S.C.)  -  April 25, 2006

Brian Piccolo (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)  -  April 26, 2006

Utah (Provo)  -  April 26, 2006

Hudson Valley (West Point, N.Y.)  -  April 27, 2006

Montana (Helena)  -  April 29, 2006

Rochester (N.Y.)  -  April 30, 2006

Northeastern Ohio (Mayfield Heights)  -  May 1, 2006

Rhode Island (West Warwick)  -  May 1, 2006

Corrigan/Faircloth (Winston-Salem, N.C.)  -  May 1, 2006

Tom Lombardo (St. Louis)  -  May 7, 2006

Central Mass. (Worcester)  -  May 7, 2006

Southern Tier (Binghamton, N.Y.)  -  May 7, 2006

Vermont (Middlebury)  -  May 7, 2006

Hawaii (Honolulu)  -  May 7, 2006

Eastern Mass. (Randolph)  -  May 8, 2006

Capital District (Albany, N.Y.)  -  May 8, 2006

Joe Yukica (Manchester, N.H.)  -  May 9, 2006

Memphis (Tenn.)  -  May 9, 2006

Philadelphia  -  May 10, 2006

Middle Georgia (Macon)  -  May 11, 2006

Greater Austin (Texas)  -  May 15, 2006

Nevada (Las Vegas)  -  May 19, 2006

Northern Connecticut (New Britain)  -  May 21, 2006

State of Maine (Brunswick)  -  May 23, 2006

New York City  -  May 31, 2006

Southeastern Connecticut (New London)  -  May TBA

National Capital Region (Washington, D.C.)  -  May TBA

Bergen County (N.J.)  -  May TBA

Northeast Indiana (Fort Wayne)  -  May TBA

Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)  -  May TBA

Western PA (Pittsburgh)  -  June 8, 2006

Northwest Indiana (West Lafayette)  -  June 22, 2006

West Virginia (Charleston)  -  June TBA