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ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020 OVERVIEW
Greetings from the National Football Foundation! I hope this letter finds you and your family safe and well.
The 2019 season marked a sensational year for the NFF and college football, including:
Celebrating college football’s 150th anniversary; Inducting the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class at the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner; Putting on more than 250 events at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta; Securing Mazda as presenting sponsor of the Campbell Trophy, who joined longtime partner Fidelity Investments in greatly expanding our efforts to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal; Adding three new NFF chapters to the 120 outposts nationwide; and Amassing 110,878 followers for our award-winning Football Matters initiative who have consumed more than 7.9 million minutes of content.
The months of April and May have traditionally been a time of outreach for the NFF. The opportunity to highlight our accomplishments, break down the present state of the game, and discuss the issues of the day is needed and not taken for granted. However, the COVID-19 crisis has changed the dynamics for everyone, everywhere. So, in lieu of our presence at the traditional spring meetings and other offseason events, we have created the following overview of our initiatives, which we will work diligently to expand in 2020.
From coast-to-coast, football stands at the center of campus life, and our great game will play a pivotal role as our country begins to return to normal. As we all continue to plan for the unknown during the next few months, one thing is for certain: we will play again, and the NFF will – as always – work with you to shine a light on everything right with our great game.
Please keep in touch and let us know how we can help. A full slate of our resources and platforms are at your disposal. Stay safe!
Archie Manning NFF Chairman
“Practically overnight, rebranding football became the biggest part of the foundation’s portfolio, next to maintaining the College Football Hall of Fame and honoring the academic achievements of collegiate football players.”
– The New York Times THREE ANNIVERSARIES
100Years of the NFL To celebrate 100 years of existence, the NFL had many exciting initiatives and promotions that took place. Gregory Hampton won two season tickets to the New York Giants for the next 100 years. The NFL 100 Originals included “Peyton’s Places,” where Peyton Manning traveled around the country to explore the history of the NFL and talk with key football figures about football history and its cultural impact. The NFL also launched “Huddle for 100,” which encouraged fans to dedicate 100 minutes of time to a charitable cause and use social media to share the volunteer experience.
150Years of College Football College football’s roots began even further back when Princeton University played at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey on Nov. 6, 1869. To commemorate the first game, the College Football 150th Anniversary (CFB150) executed a national celebration of the sport’s sesquicentennial. CFB150 provided uniform patches and helmet decals to schools at Divisions I, II, III, NAIA and junior college levels. Special commemorations took place throughout the season. Highlights included recognition during both the NFL’s Monday Night Football Game on November 4th and the Princeton versus Dartmouth game in Yankee Stadium on November 9th. In addition, ESPN, The Athletic and other media outlets created content specifically geared toward celebrating 150 years of college football. Years of the William V. 30Campbell Trophy® 2019 marked the 30th year of the NFF’s William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award. The award is presented to the college football player who best exemplifies the combination of academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership, with past recipients including Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow. The 2019 Campbell Trophy® was presented to former University of Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert. Maintaining a remarkable 4.01 GPA, Herbert was selected as the back-to-back Football Academic All-American of the Year, while ranking in the top two in nearly every Oregon passing category. THE CHICK-FIL-A COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
“THE CITY AND PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY HAVE EMBRACED OUR HOME IN ATLANTA AS A MAJOR EPICENTER FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL.”
– ARCHIE MANNING, NFF CHAIRMAN WHAT’S NEW Two New Interactive Exhibits
To celebrate its legacy in the sport, the Goodyear Blimp was inducted as an honorary member of the College Football Hall of Fame, the first non-player or coach to THE GOODYEAR BLIMP EXHIBIT UPGRADED KIA PERFORMANCE CENTER be inducted. featuring an augmented reality allowing fans to test their football skills airship experience
Celebration of FREE ADMISSION TO THE HALL The Hall of Fame partnered with Chick-fil-A and Coca-Cola to th provide free admission to the Hall for the entire month of August, 150 Anniversary resulting in three consecutive record-breaking Saturdays. of College Football THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL 150 DISPLAY The Hall of Fame launched the College Football 150 display in the Included: Specialty Exhibit delivered by UPS. The exhibit featured unique content from the early days of college football, including a rule book published in 1906, a box of dirt from the site of the first game ever played, a medallion and program from the Centennial 1969 celebration, and an umpire card used in the 1960s. LESSONS FROM LEGENDS The Hall of Fame released the 5-part original seriesLessons from Legends featuring Frank Beamer, Tommie Frazier, Dat Nguyen, Paul Palmer and Charles Alexander. 150TH SWEEPSTAKES The Hall of Fame conducted the 150th Sweepstakes, which awarded a winning fan a pair of tickets to the 2019 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl CFP semi-final game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
200k+ visitors through February 2020
Consecutive paid records during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | College Football Playoff Semifinal
TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for the fourth consecutive year HALL OVERVIEW
The Hall hosted Sports Illustrated Super Bowl Party Hall of Fame Homecoming more than 250 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Media Day events in 2019 National Hall of Fame Salute The Home Depot College Football Awards including: for the fifth consecutive year 62nd National football foundation annual awards dinner
“THOSE IN THE ROOM CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THE GAME, AND THE EVENT CAPTURED THE ESSENCE OF WHY FOOTBALL MATTERS AND THE POSITIVE IMPACT COLLEGE FOOTBALL HAS MADE DURING THE LAST 150 YEARS.”
– STEVE HATCHELL, PRESIDENT AND CEO NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DINNER
The 62nd National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner “Sometimes people doubting you or telling you Presented by ETT took place in New York on December 10, that you can’t do something becomes incentive to 2019. Emceed by NFL on FOX analyst Charles Davis, the dinner prove them wrong.” was especially momentous with a special tribute to the 150th anniversary of college football. The 2019 College Football Hall – Mark Harmon of Fame Class Presented by ETT boasted 13 First Team All- WATCH: Actor, philanthropist, and former UCLA quarterback Americans, two coaches, one NFF National Scholar-Athlete, five Mark Harmon became the 65th recipient of the NFF Gold Medal. unanimous First Team All- Americans, seven winners of college football major awards, and coaches who combined for six national championships and 10 conference coach of the year honors.
Additionally, a total of $223,000 was awarded to 2019 William V. Campbell Trophy recipient Justin Herbert and the 11 other members of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments, who comprised the list of finalists for the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda. Each member of the class claimed an $18,000 scholarship for their postgraduate educations.
Events surrounding the dinner included the Amos Alonzo Stagg Social Presented by Under Armour, the Ivy League Asa S. Bushnell Cup Announcement presented by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the William V. Campbell Trophy® Luncheon at the New York Athletic Club, and the NFF National Scholar-Athletes presence at the Learfield IMG College Intercollegiate Athletics Forum. 2019 HALL OF FAME CLASS
FIRST TEAM 13 ALL-AMERICA PLAYERS
Terrell Buckley DB, FLORIDA STATE (1989-91) Rickey Dixon DB, OKLAHOMA (1984-87) London Fletcher LB, JOHN CARROLL [OH] (1995-97) Jacob Green DL, TEXAS A&M (1977-79) Torry Holt WR, NORTH CAROLINA STATE (1995-98) Raghib “Rocket” Ismail KR/WR, NOTRE DAME (1988-90) Darren McFadden RB, ARKANSAS (2005-07) Jake Plummer QB, ARIZONA STATE (1993-96) Troy Polamalu DB, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (1999-2002) Joe Thomas OL, WISCONSIN (2003-06) Lorenzo White RB, MICHIGAN STATE (1984-87) Patrick Willis LB, MISSISSIPPI (2003-06) Vince Young QB, TEXAS (2003-05)
LEGENDARY 2 COACHES
Dennis Erickson 179-96-1 (65.0%); IDAHO (1982-85, 2006), WYOMING (1986), WASHINGTON STATE (1987- 88), MIAMI [FL] (1989-94), OREGON STATE (1999-2002), ARIZONA STATE (2007-11) Joe Taylor 233-96-4 (70.6%); HOWARD (1983), VIRGINIA UNION (1984-91), HAMPTON (1992-2007), FLORIDA A&M (2008-2012) OF THE 5.4 MILLION INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE PLAYED OR COACHED COLLEGE FOOTBALL SINCE PRINCETON FIRST BATTLED RUTGERS ON NOV. 6, 1869, ONLY 1,027 PLAYERS 2020 HALL OF AND 221 COACHES HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE IMMORTALIZED IN THE FAME CLASS SPORT’S ULTIMATE SHRINE. PRESENTED BY ETT
FIRST TEAM 17 ALL-AMERICA PLAYERS
Lomas Brown OT, FLORIDA (1981-84) Keith Byars RB, OHIO STATE (1982-85) Eric Crouch QB, NEBRASKA (1998-2001) Eric Dickerson RB, SOUTHERN METHODIST (1979-82) Glenn Dorsey DT, LSU (2004-07) Jumbo Elliott OT, MICHIGAN (1984-87) Jason Hanson PK, WASHINGTON STATE (1988-91) E.J. Henderson LB, MARYLAND (1999-2002) E.J. Junior DE, ALABAMA (1977-80) Steve McNair QB, ALCORN STATE (1991-94) Cade McNown QB, UCLA (1995-98) Leslie O’Neal DT, OKLAHOMA STATE (1982-85) Anthony Poindexter DB, VIRGINIA (1995-98) David Pollack DE, GEORGIA (2001-04) Bob Stein DE, MINNESOTA (1966-68) Michael Westbrook WR, COLORADO (1991-94) Elmo Wright WR, HOUSTON (1968-70)
LEGENDARY 2 COACHES
Dick Sheridan 121-52-5 (69.4%); FURMAN (1978-85), NORTH CAROLINA STATE (1986-92) Andy Talley 258-155-2 (62.4%); ST. LAWRENCE [NY] (1979-83), VILLANOVA (1985-2016) HALL OF FAME OF HALL BROWN
HENDERSON POLLACK
TALLEY CROUCH
STEIN
ONLY TWO ONE-HUNDREDTHS OF A PERCENT (.02%) OF THOSE MCNAIR WHO HAVE SET FOOT ON THE GRIDIRON HAVE EARNED THE HALL OF FAME DISTINCTION.
DORSEY
DICKERSON
ELLIOTT JUNIOR
WESTBROOK
MCNOWN
POINDEXTER SHERIDAN
WRIGHT O’NEAL HANSON BYARS 2019 william v. campbell trophy® Presented by Mazda
FIRST TEAM ACADEMIC FIRST TEAM 17 ALL-AMERICANS 11 ALL-AMERICANS 10 NATIONAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS RHODES HALL OF FAME 2 SCHOLARS 3.72 3 INDUCTEES AVERAGE GPA FIRST-ROUND HEISMAN 22 NFL DRAFT PH.D. OR M.D. TROPHY TEAM 7 PICKS 5 RECIPIENTS 2 WINNERS CAPTAINS The Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda ranks as one of college football’s most sought after and competitive awards.
The Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. The 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy, which is prominently displayed at its official home inside the New York Athletic Club, comes with a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship.
The NFF National Scholar-Athlete Program, presented by Fidelity Investments, which launched in 1959 and celebrated its 61st year in 2019, became the first initiative in history to award postgraduate scholarships based on a player’s combined academic, athletic and community accomplishments. The program has awarded $11.7 million to 866 top athletes since its inception.
Mazda launched the Power of Potential Program last college football season, which was developed to honor individuals making a difference, pushing to their potential and inspiring others. Mazda kicked off the platform by announcing a three-year partnership with the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame to support the William V. Campbell Trophy®.
WATCH: Mazda & ESPN | Power of Potential | Mazda USA CAMPBELL TROPHY®
2019 Recipient Justin Herbert Herbert became Oregon’s first recipient of the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda and the school’s third NFF National Scholar-Athlete, joining fellow Duck quarterbacks Dennis Dixon (2007) and Bill Musgrave (1990).
“To be the recipient in the 30th anniversary of the Campbell Trophy® just validates the incredible hard work Justin has put in, the support that he’s had from his family and what a wonderful young man he is. It’s one of the highest honors in all of college athletics. “
- Rob Mullens, Oregon Director of Athletics
Herbert maintained a 4.01 GPA and was selected as the back-to-back Football Academic All-American of the Year.
Led Oregon to the 2019 Pac-12 and earned MVP honors in the Ducks’ Rose Bowl win over No. 8 Wisconsin.
Selected sixth overall in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers.
National Scholar-Athlete Class, Presented by Fidelity Investments
Spencer Blackburn C, EASTERN WASHINGTON, 3.69 GPA Rodrigo Blankenship PK, GEORGIA, 3.71 GPA Jordan Fuller S, OHIO STATE, 3.60 GPA Alex Goettl LB, MINNESOTA STATE, 3.93 GPA Justin Herbert QB, OREGON, 4.01 GPA Adam Holtorf C, KANSAS STATE, 3.92 GPA Michael Lohmeier DE, CARNEGIE MELLON (PA), 4.00 GPA Jordan Mack LB, VIRGINIA, 3.47 GPA Dante Olson LB, MONTANA, 3.90 GPA Jelani Taylor S, CORNELL, 3.96 GPA Casey Toohill LB, STANFORD, 3.71 GPA Jon Wassink QB, WESTERN MICHIGAN, 3.96 GPA History of the Campbell Trophy® 1990 Bill Campbell
The centerpiece to the NFF’s scholar-athlete program, the William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda was first awarded in 1990. It is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF’s Gold Medal.
Campbell “coached” among others, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Sundar Pichai at Google, Steve Jobs at Apple, Brad Smith at Intuit, Jeff Bezos at Amazon, John Donahoe at eBay, Marissa Mayer at Yahoo, Dick Costolo at Twitter, and Sheryl Sandberg at Facebook.
The New York Athletic Club is the official home of the trophy, and it is on display as part of its Hall of Fame.
The Campbell Trophy® Summit The Campbell Trophy Summit, sponsored by Intuit Inc., takes place each summer at Stanford University in California. All past semifinalists, finalists and winners of the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda are invited to attend, with a special emphasis on the most recent year’s nominees. The event provides a powerful opportunity for the recent graduates to interact and learn from many of the nation’s top entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley CEOs about the lessons that have guided them to highest levels of success.
The four-day event includes a career expo with a dozen companies on site to recruit, several team building activities, a physical competition dubbed the “Summit Triathlon,” and a dinner cruise of San Francisco Bay. Companies that have participated in the career expo include Altamont Capital, Bank of America, Chegg, Enjoy, EY, Google, Intuit, the Knight-Hennessey Scholars at Stanford, McDermott Will & Emery, Snap! Raise, SoFi, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, and WeDriveU, as well as professionals from the medical and real estate fields and several entrepreneurs from a diverse range of emerging companies.
WATCH: 2019 William V. Campbell® Trophy Summit HAMPSHIRE HONOR SOCIETY
The 2020 NFF Hampshire Honor Society is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. An impressive 1,471 players from 370 schools qualified for membership in the Society’s 14th year, bringing the total number of honorees to more than 12 thousand all-time.
Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided the endowment to launch the NFF Hampshire Honor Society in 2007. He made the contribution as part of his legacy to the organization after serving as NFF Chairman from 1994-2006. He currently serves the organization as chairman emeritus. Each player awarded with membership in the Honor Society receives a certificate commemorating his or her achievement.
“We are grateful for Jon Hanson’s passionate belief in the scholar-athlete ideal, and the Hampshire Honor Society allows us to showcase the names of tomorrow’s leaders while inspiring future generations to follow in their footsteps.”
- Archie Manning, NFF Chairman FOOTBALL MATTERS NFF Campaign Celebrates the Positive Impact of Football FOOTBALL MATTERS
In early 2018, the National Football Foundation launched Football Matters to celebrate the good of the game because of its tremendous impact on millions of players, coaches, administrators, volunteers and fans throughout the entire country.
The initiative spotlights the hundreds of amazing stories that come from football both on and off the field and at every level of the sport.
Football Matters focused on the theme #UnitedWeFan in 2019, highlighting how the game unites fans despite background or difference while also spotlighting the industry uniting to make the game better. Over 1,000 original content pieces have been created and shared on the platform. Highlights from the past year include the original series “The Future is Friday,” which gave football fans a unique look at high school game day across the country. The short film “American Fantasy” explored the draw and intrigue of Fantasy Football from the perspective of football fans, NFL players, and broadcast talent. The original series “Playing the Field” unpacked the deep history and the rise of the very popular Madden series from EA Sports, allowing more people to become involved with the game off of the gridiron. Interviews with football influencers included trailblazer Dr. Jen Welter, the ESPN College GameDay crew, and reporter Holly Rowe, who credits football for “saving her life” amidst her cancer battle.
Over 50M impressions 110k+ total followers on Facebook and Twitter across three primary social channels
Over 16.2M total video views Over 1,000 pieces on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter of original content since campaign launch since campaign launch FOOTBALL MATTERS FEATURES
Unsung Heroes: Football and the Polynesian Athlete explores the unique relationship between Polynesians and the game of football. Inspired by the culture’s emphasis on family, this short film examines the incredible journey many Polynesians have made from the Islands in search of new opportunity and to celebrate all they have contributed to the country’s most popular sport.
“We congratulate Football Matters on this outstanding documentary.” – The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame
Awards: Official Selection, 2019 Maui Film Festival; 2019 Gold Telly Award Winner, General: Sports; 2019 Gold Telly Award Winner, Documentary; 2019 Silver Telly Award Winner, Media and Entertainment; 2019 Silver Telly Award Winner, Social Video: Sports and Leisure; 2019 Silver Telly Award Winner, Online: Sports; 2019 Silver Telly Award Winner, Documentary: Individual; 2019 People’s Telly Award Winner, Non-Broadcast Production; 2019 Hermes Platinum Award Winner, Documentary
Unashamed: Mental Health in College Football is a four- part docuseries spotlighting how college football programs are working to emphasize the importance of mental health well-being. Led by the narrative of former BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum, who himself has been candid about his own mental health journey, the series features coaches and athletes openly discussing mental health well-being, the stressors of their environment, and the steps being taken to preemptively address these issues.
“Because of Football Matters, the stigma surrounding mental health is being broken down. I’m honored to play a role in it.” – Tanner Mangum, BYU Quarterback
Awards: 2019 Webby Award Honoree, Public Service and Activism; 2019 Sports College Media Awards Honorable Mention, Special Programming; 2019 Silver Telly Award, Documentary Series; 2019 Bronze Telly Award, Social Video: Sports and Leisure; 2019 Bronze Telly Award, General Video: Sports; 2019 Bronze Telly Award, Series: Non-scripted/Documentary; 2019 Hermes Platinum Award Winner, Documentary STATE OF THE GAME
colleges and universities play at all levels. The total includes four colleges that began 897 their inaugural football seasons in 2019.
Nearly 100 rules changes 79% graduation success have been made at the pro and rate of Football Bowl collegiate levels since 2013. Subdivision Student-Athletes.
In 2019, Pop Warner became the More than one first national football program at million high school any level to eliminate the three-point students played stance in further efforts to make the football last season. sport better for young players.
teams in Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) competed 62 in fall 2019. Thank you to the NFF Corporate Partners and Event Sponsors
Delta Air Lines, the official carrier of the NFF, Economic Transformation Technologies (ETT), Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of serves as the presenting sponsor of the Hall of a multi-discipline technology company, serves workplace savings plans in higher education, Fame Reception. as the presenting sponsor of the NFF Annual serves as the presenting sponsor of the NFF Awards Dinner and the College Football Hall of National Scholar-Athlete Class, NFF Faculty Fame Class. Salutes and NFF Hall of Fame on-Campus Salutes.
Goodyear is the official tire of the National Herff Jones is the official jewelry design Mazda serves as the presenting sponsor of the Football Foundation and the College Football partner of the NFF, designing rings for the NFF’s William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented Hall of Fame. College Football Hall of Fame inductees, NFF by Mazda, college football’s premier scholar- Leadership Hall of Fame inductees and the athlete award. recipients of The William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda.
The historic New York Athletic Club serves The Pasadena Tournament of Roses serves as Sports Business Journal is a media partner of as the official home of the NFF’s William V. the presenting sponsor of the Ivy League’s Asa the NFF in promotion of the annual Learfield Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda. S. Bushnell Cup Announcement, which the NFF IMG College Intercollegiate Athletics Forum, co-hosts each year with the Ivy League the day which takes place in New York the days before its NFF Annual Awards Dinner. following the NFF Annual Awards Dinner.
The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl hosted the 15th The Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, whose Spielman Koenigsberg & Parker, a certified Annual National Hall of Fame Salute featuring primary purpose is to preserve, protect and public accounting firm, is a proud NFF Annual members of the 2019 Hall of Fame Class on enhance the Rose Bowl Stadium’s future, is a Awards Dinner sponsor. December 28, 2019. proud NFF Annual Awards Dinner sponsor.
Under Armour, the official retail partner of XOS Digital is the official host of the NFF’s the NFF, serves as the presenting sponsor of extensive video library. the NFF Chapter Network and the Amos Alonzo Stagg Social.