Cedric Alwyn Minter (born November 13, 1958), is a former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player, an award-winning

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

. After his playing career, Minter became an educator and is currently a junior high school assistant principal in

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...

Early years

Born into a military family in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, Minter moved with his family to

Mountain Home Air Force Base Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the western United States. Located in southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, the base is southwest of Mountain Home, which is southeast of Boise via Interstat ...

southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...

in 1959, when he was a few months old. A year later the family moved to nearby

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

, where he grew up and played his

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

in the mid-1970s for

Borah High School Borah High School is a three-year public secondary school in Boise, Idaho, one of four traditional high schools in the Boise School District. It serves students in grades in the southwest portion of the district. It is named after a prominent ...

under head coach Delane "De" Pankratz. Minter had outstanding seasons for the Lions as a sophomore and junior; the Lions went undefeated in 1975 and Minter had the attention of the top

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

programs. But after incurring a shoulder injury on the first play of his senior season in September 1976, the attention rapidly subsided.

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

were still interested, but only

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a pub ...

in his hometown was interested in him as a

College

Minter graduated from high school in 1977 and accepted a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a p ...

(BSU), and became a two-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n under head coach

Jim Criner Jim Criner (born March 30, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1976 to 1982 and at Iowa State University from 1983 to 1986, compiling a career record of as a college footbal ...

. Minter made his mark early as a freshman with a school record 210 yards against Cal Poly. As a sophomore, he set a Big Sky record by rushing with 1,526 yards in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

. As a senior, he was a member of BSU's "Four Horseman" backfield (along with QB Joe Aliotti, FB David Hughes, and HB Terry Zahner), which led the 1980 Broncos to the Division I-AA championship. BSU defeated the Grambling Tigers, 14–9, in the first round (semifinals) at

Bronco Stadium Albertsons Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It is the home field of the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference. Known as Bronco S ...

, then edged favored Eastern Kentucky, 31–29, with a late touchdown in the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game played in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

on December 20. Minter finished his college career with 4,475 rushing yards, but as an undersized Big Sky running back (, ), he went unselected in the

1981 NFL Draft The 1981 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981, at the New York S ...

, then twelve rounds (332 selections). Minter began his professional football career in the

in 1981, and graduated from BSU with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

elementary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or fir ...

in 1985.

Professional career

Minter signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the CFL East Division, East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based i ...

of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

in April 1981, and played three seasons, rushing for 815, 563, and 599 yards. He was awarded the

Frank M. Gibson Trophy The Frank M. Gibson Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, given to the most outstanding rookie in the Canadian Football League East Division, East Division. Each team from the East Division nominates a candidate from which a winner is chosen ...

as best rookie in the East in 1981, and was an all star in 1981 and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

. Minter's finest moment came in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, when with only minutes remaining in the 71st Grey Cup game, he scored a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

on a Joe Barnes pass to win the game and end the Argonauts' long championship drought, their last Grey Cup victory coming 31 years earlier in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. After three seasons in Canada, Minter played two seasons in the NFL with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

. He played a total of 9 games and scored two touchdowns in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. Minter rushed for 159 yards, caught 11 passes, and returned punts and kickoffs.jt-sw.com
NFL Statistics - Cedric Minter - accessed 2009-10-10 He returned to Toronto in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

, played in 4 games and rushed for 170 yards. After a brief stint with the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, Minter retired from pro football.

After football

After his playing days, Minter became an educator in 1988. He taught and coached in

southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

in Middleton and at Capital High School in Boise, and then coached the running backs at Boise State for a season in 1992 under head coach

Skip Hall Merle "Skip" Hall (born February 18, 1944) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Boise State University for six seasons, from 1987 to 1992, compiling a record of 42–28. He replaced Lyle Setencich follow ...

. He returned to teaching (and high school coaching) in 1993 in southeast

in Nyssa and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1995 from Northwest Nazarene College. Minter has worked in the Boise School District since 2001, and is currently the assistant principal at Fairmont Junior High School.

References

External links

Boise School District
- Cedric Minter

- Cedric Minter

- Cedric Minter {{DEFAULTSORT:Minter, Cedric Toronto Argonauts players Ottawa Rough Riders players New York Jets players Canadian football running backs American players of Canadian football American football running backs Boise State Broncos football players Boise State University alumni Northwest Nazarene University alumni Sportspeople from Charleston, South Carolina Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho Players of American football from Idaho 1958 births Living people Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners