The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced on Aug. 20, the names of the 36 finalists for the 2014 NFF High School National Scholar-Athlete Awards, which will honor one young man from each of the country’s five regions as the best and the brightest for their accomplishments as athletes, scholars and citizens at the high school level.
One of the five Northeast nominees, Milford's Nick Crowle from Fairfield Prep, was nominated by the NFF Casey-O’Brien/New Haven Chapter and is currently at Yale University.
“The NFF Chapter Network continues to grow and excel, and their work this year has allowed us to identify these exceptional 36 scholar-athletes who have clearly established themselves among the best in the nation,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell.
“It will be a difficult task to select one from each region as the absolute best. Each possesses incredible talent in all facets of their lives, and it is a tremendous honor for us to highlight their accomplishments.”
With 120 chapters and more than 12,000 members, the NFF Chapter Network impacts more than 500,000 student-athletes at 4,800 high schools in 47 states each year.
The centerpiece of their efforts are the annual chapter awards banquets, which recognize more than 3,500 of the nation’s top scholar-athletes and distribute more than $1 million in scholarships.
From this pool of 3,500 scholar-athletes, the chapters have nominated 36 individuals in 2014 as finalists for the highly sought-after NFF High School National Scholar-Athlete Awards
During the week of Oct. 9, a national committee will select and announce the five winners, one from each region.
The five winners will travel to New York City to be honored during the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon, presented by Under Armour, on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
First bestowed in 1991, the NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards have become one of the most prestigious high school honors in the country. Criteria for the award include, but are not limited to, academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement.
Northeast Region nominees are Crowle; Jon Baker (Boston College) from Millis High School in Millis, Mass.; Kyran McKinney-Crudden (Dartmouth College) from Glastonbury High School; Kyle Reisert (University of New Hampshire) from Plymouth Regional High School in Plymouth, N.H.; and Jedidiah Scott (Assumption College) from Sanford High School in Sanford, Maine.
During the past 23 years, 101 student-athletes have been recognized as NFF High School National Scholar-Athletes, and this year will mark the 24th class of honorees.
Recent recipients include Andrew Luck (2008, former Stanford and current Indianapolis Colts quarterback), Andrew Rodriguez (2008, Army linebacker and winner of the 2011 William V. Campbell Trophy), Bryant Browning (2006, former Ohio State and current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman) and Chris Prosinski (2006, former Wyoming and current Jacksonville Jaguars safety).
Other notable past recipients include Todd Helton (1992, former Tennessee quarterback and retired Colorado Rockies first baseman), Jon Stinchcomb (1998, a former Georgia and NFL offensive lineman), Drew Henson (1998, a former Michigan quarterback and professional football and baseball player) and Bobby Hoying (1991, a former Ohio State quarterback and winner of the 1995 William V. Campbell Trophy).
Five NFF High School National Scholar- Athletes have gone on to win NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards for their accomplishments in college. They are Hoying, Eion Hu (1993, Harvard), Giovanni Carmazzi (1995, Hofstra), Rodriguez and Stinchcomb.
Following the Dec. 9 luncheon, the five 2014 recipients will attend the 57th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, also at the Waldorf Astoria, as honored guests where they will meet many of the game’s greatest legends and current college stars.
As the culmination of the regular season, the evening event provides the stage for the induction of the 2014 College Football Hall of Fame Class; the presentation of the 2014 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments; the bestowing of the 25th NFF William V. Campbell Trophy to the nation’s top scholar-athlete; and the honoring of the 2014 NFF Major Award recipients.
For tickets to the Dec. 9 luncheon in New York, contact Ron Dilatush at rdilatush@footballfoundation.com or by calling 972-556-1000.
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl “Red” Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people.
NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame, the NFF Scholar-Athlete Awards presented by Fidelity Investments, the NFF High School Showcases, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF Faculty Salute Initiative presented by Fidelity Investments, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association, and scholarships of more than $1.3 million for college and high school scholar-athletes.
The NFF also collaborates with the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to release the FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll; presents the William V. Campbell Trophy endowed by HealthSouth and hosted at the New York Athletic Club; and bestows several other major awards at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner. NFF corporate partners include the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Fidelity Investments, Herff Jones, PrimeSport, the Sports Business Journal, and Under Armour.
Learn more at footballfoundation.org.