The National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award is among the highest offered by the

National Football Foundation The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote and develop amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and "developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the dr ...

(NFF). Every year, the NFF & College Football Hall of Fame pays tribute to a select few with awards of excellence for exhibiting superior qualities of scholarship, citizenship and leadership. Additionally, the Foundation also recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding support for the NFF and its mission of promoting the game of amateur football. The Distinguished American Award is presented on special occasions when a truly deserving individual emerges, the award honors someone who has applied the character building attributes learned from amateur sport in their business and personal life, exhibiting superior leadership qualities in education, amateur athletics, business and in the community. The recipient is not limited to a former college player or coach, must be an outstanding person who has maintained a lifetime of interest in the game and who, over a long period of time, has exhibited enviable leadership qualities and made a significant contribution to the betterment of amateur football in the United States.

Selection process

Various individuals associated with The National Football Foundation, such as former recipients, board members corporate leaders, chapter presidents and friends send nominations and suggestions to the NFF Chairman. Selection of the recipient is made by the Awards Committee and ratified by the Board of Directors.

Recipients

1966 -

Bill Carpenter William Stanley Carpenter Jr. (born September 30, 1937) is a retired American military officer and former college football player. While playing college football at the United States Military Academy, he gained national prominence as the "Lonesom ...

1969 - Archibald MacLeish
1970 -

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...

1971 - Frank Boyden
1972 -

Jerome H. Holland Jerome Heartwell "Brud" Holland (January 9, 1916 – January 13, 1985) was an American university president and diplomat. He was the first African American to play football at Cornell University, and was chosen as an All American in 1937 and 1938 ...

1973 - (no award)
1974 -

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

1975 - Theodore Hesburgh
1976 -

James Van Fleet General James Alward Van Fleet (March 19, 1892 – September 23, 1992) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised in Florida and gradu ...

1977 - Rev. Edmund P. Joyce
1978 - (no award)
1979 - John W. Galbreath
1980 - Fred Russell
1981 -

Sonny Werblin David Abraham "Sonny" Werblin (March 17, 1910 – November 21, 1991) was a prominent entertainment industry executive and sports impresario who was an owner of the New York Jets and chairman of Madison Square Garden, and who built and managed the ...

1982 - Silver Anniversary (all honored) Jim Brown, Willie Davis, Jack Kemp,

Ron Kramer Ronald John Kramer (June 24, 1935 – September 11, 2010) was a multi-sport college athlete and professional American football player. Kramer attended the University of Michigan from 1953 to 1957, winning a total of nine varsity letters in fo ...

, Jim Swink
1983 - Leon Hess & James Stewart
1984 - David M. Nelson
1985 -

William J. Flynn William James Flynn (November 18, 1867 – October 14, 1928) was the director of the Bureau of Investigation from July 1, 1919, to August 21, 1921. Personal life Flynn was born in New York City and began his government career in 1897, after rec ...

1986 -

John Toner John L. Toner (May 4, 1923 – September 23, 2014) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Connecticut (UConn) from 1966 to 1970 and as the school's ...

1987 -

Ike Sewell Issac Sewell (September 9, 1903 – August 20, 1990) was an American athlete, businessman, entrepreneur, and founder of the Uno Chicago Grill restaurant chain that originated in Chicago, Illinois, as well as founder of the Pizzeria Uno and Pi ...

1988 - Joe M. Rodgers
1989 -

Moose Krause Edward Walter "Moose" Krause (born Edward Walter Kriaučiūnas; lt, Edvardas Valteris Kriaučiūnas; February 2, 1913 – December 11, 1992) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, track athlete, coach, and college athletics a ...

1990 -

Pete Rozelle Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was an American businessman and executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retirement i ...

1991 -

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2 ...

1992 -

Wellington Mara Wellington Timothy Mara (August 14, 1916 – October 25, 2005) was the co-owner of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1959 until his death. He was the younger son of Tim Mara, who founded the Giants in 1925. Wellingto ...

1993 -

Dick Kazmaier Richard William Kazmaier Jr. (November 23, 1930 – August 1, 2013) was an American businessman and naval lieutenant. He played college football at Princeton University from 1949 through 1951 and was the winner of the 1951 Heisman Trophy, Maxwell ...

1994 -

Charles F. Bolden, Jr. Charles Frank Bolden Jr. (born August 19, 1946) is a former Administrator of NASA, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General, and a former astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions. He graduated from the United States Naval ...

1995 -

Tom Osborne Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is a former American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and politician from Nebraska. He served as head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1973 to 1997 (25 season ...

1996 -

J. Donald Monan J. Donald Monan, SJ (December 31, 1924 – March 18, 2017) was the chancellor of Boston College from 1996 to 2017 and its 24th president from 1972 to 1996—the longest such tenure in the university's history until it was surpassed by his successo ...

, S.J
1997 - (no award)
1998 -

Roy Kramer Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise t ...

1999 - (no award)
2000 - Arthur J. Decio
2001 - Dr. James Frank
2002 - George B. Young
2003 - Robert Khayat
2004 -

Robert Casciola Robert F. Casciola (born c. 1935) is an American former college football coach, National Basketball Association executive, banking executive, and broadcaster. He was the head coach at the University of Connecticut from 1971 to 1972 and at Princ ...

2005 -

Alan Page Alan Cedric Page (born August 7, 1945) is an American retired judge and former professional football He gained national recognition as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) during 15 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and C ...

2006 -

Pat Tillman Patrick Daniel Tillman Jr. (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004) was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) who left his sports career and enlisted in the United States Army in May 2002 in the afterma ...

2007 -

Rocky Bleier Robert Patrick "Rocky" Bleier ( , born March 5, 1946) is a former professional American football player. He was a National Football League (NFL) halfback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1968 and from 1970 to 1980. Origin of nickname Nicknamed "R ...

2008 - T. Boone Pickens
2009 - Billy Payne
2010 -

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...

2011 - Archie Roberts
2012 -

George Bodenheimer George Bodenheimer (born May 6, 1958) is the former president of ESPN Inc. and of ABC's sports division, known since 2006 as ESPN on ABC. He was president of ESPN since November 19, 1998 and of the former ABC Sports since March 3, 2003. The ''S ...

2013 - Gen. Ray Odierno
2014 - (no award)
2015 - Rear Adm. Bill Byrne, USN
(2015) - Capt. Jared Tew, USAF
(2015) - Maj. Graham White, USA
2016 - Adm. William McRaven

External links

NFF Distinguished American Award Recipients

{{College football award navbox College football lifetime achievement awards Awards established in 1966 1966 establishments in the United States

Selection process

Recipients

See also

External links