3/25: Those Oregon QBs!

Good in the Game 3/25

March 25, 2025

NFF chapters continue with a busy slate of events across the country, celebrating the best scholar-athletes from their respective regions. Collectively, the network will award more than $1 million in local scholarships this year while recognizing 3,500 high school and college student-athletes. Spanning 120 chapters in 47 states, the NFF Chapter Network serves as the heartbeat of a nationwide effort to promote amateur football and instill leadership, sportsmanship, and academic excellence among young players. The movement traces back to 1954, when the Cincinnati Club first discussed forming NFF chapters. Today, more than 12,000 passionate members continue that legacy, dedicated to Building Leaders Through Football. Together, they host more than 300 events annually, reaching 500,000 football players at 5,000 high schools.

Clockwise from the upper left corner: Arizona media personality Brad Cesmat emceed the 44th NFF Valley of the Sun Chapter Scholar-Athlete Banquet, where he presented the Frank Kush Lifetime Achievement Award to Arizona State Assistant Head Coach Charlie Ragle. The NFF New York City Chapter hosted its 10th annual “Elite Eleven” Scholar-Athlete Award Dinner on March 6, awarding each honoree a $1,000 scholarship and a commemorative plaque. The NFF Delaware Valley Chapter held its 63rd Annual George Wah Scholar-Leader-Athlete Awards Dinner on March 9, distributing $31,500 in scholarships. The honorees included Hightstown’s Michael Fowler, who attended with Hightstown head coach Ryan Fullen.  The NFF Coastal Valley (San Fernando, CA) Chapter honored more than 75 high school seniors on March 9, including participants from girls’ flag football programs. Each recipient received a commemorative ring.

Join us to celebrate college football legends such as Montee Ball, Graham Harrell, Michael Strahan, Michael Vick and many, many more at one of the sport's grandest traditions — the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas — Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, at the iconic Bellagio Hotel & Casino.

The highlight of the Awards Dinner will be the induction of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class, where 18 legendary players and four acclaimed coaches take their place amongst the greatest of all time. The inductees proudly represent every region of the country, 28 collegiate institutions, 11 conferences, and seven decades.

In the latest episode of the Good in the Game Podcast, 2024 College Football Hall of Famer Mark Dantonio joins host LaVar Arrington to discuss his career, including how he got started in coaching, his tenure at Michigan State and how the game of football has helped him change peoples lives.

Photo: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG

Football is back at Azusa Pacific University!

The school has announced it will join the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at the Division III level after dropping its program due to financial restructuring back in 2020.

Kenneth Sims, a 2021 College Football Hall of Fame member who had a storied career at Texas that included All-American honors and a Lombardi Trophy win before being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 1982 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, has passed away. He was 65.

Derrick Gaffney, who played wide receiver at Florida in the 1970s before spending eight seasons in the NFL with the New York Jets, has passed away. He was 69.

Bob Long, a wide receiver at Wichita State in the early 1960s and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Green Bay Packers under Vince Lombardi, has passed away. He was 83.

Paul Flatley, who played an integral part on offense at Northwestern in 1962 when the Wildcats reached the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll and the 1963 NFL Rookie of the Year with the Minnesota Vikings, has passed away. He was 84.

Bill Mercer, a legendary sports commentator and broadcast journalist in North Texas for decades, has passed away. He was 99.

The A Team Assembles, Support Grows

Part 2 of The National Football Foundation's Good in the Game Newsletter Series, “UTRGV Football — The Heart of the Valley”

Photo: UTRGV Athletics

In Part 2 of the National Football Foundation’s series UTRGV Football — The Heart of the Valley, UTRGV Athletic Director Chasse Conque assembles his A Team to drum up support for football in the Rio Grande Valley.

“We really mapped out what this would do for our students and their student life on our campus,” Conque said, “helping them to reimagine what their engagement could be if we were to do this, and also what their engagement could be as alums.”

After the student body passed a referendum for an athletics fee to support a new football program, the university experienced an instant impact throughout its athletic department, not just football.

“What we’ve seen is a real awakening in our region that maybe football has helped open some eyes on, that we’ve got great Division I athletics here in the Rio Grande Valley,” Conque said. “As football has garnered that attention, they’re not just looking at the football program, they’re looking at the athletic department as a whole. They’re seeing we have competitive programs that play at a high level. They’re seeing the opportunities to engage with us.”

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