4/15: Tommie Frazier stops by to chat!

Good in the Game 4/15

April 15, 2025

Good morning, football fans! Congratulations to 2023 National Football Foundation Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football recipient and former CFP Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock on being named the recipient of the NACDA Michael J. Cleary Merit of Honor Award!

The Allstate Sugar Bowl Chapter of the National Football Foundation/College Hall of Fame held its 2025 Awards Luncheon presented by LCMC Health on April 8 at the Audubon Tea Room, with the highlight of the event the announcement of the winners of five college scholarships from the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Desmond Beasley from Salmen High School was the recipient of the $20,000 Oliver Delery Scholarship, named for the Sugar Bowl Committee-member and past president who passed away in 2020. The $10,000 scholarships were awarded to Brennon Johnson (Bonnabel Magnet School), Josiah Rashad Mitchell (Thomas Jefferson Academy), Davion Robertson (John Ehret High School), and Justin Wells (Isidore Newman School).

CLICK HERE to learn more about the five scholarship winners and the Allstate Sugar Bowl Chapter of the National Football Foundation!

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, 2013 College Football Hall of Famer Tommie Frazier joins host LaVar Arrington to discuss his career at Nebraska, playing football in the 90s, his life after football, Lawrence Phillips and what the game has meant to him.

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.

Top Left: The NFF Southeastern Connecticut Chapter held its event April 6, honoring 11 scholar-athletes from the region.

Top Right: Aiden Hoelscher, a standout running back and outside linebacker at Centerville Senior High School (IN), received the 2025 Terry Courage Award at the 31st Central Indiana Chapter Annual Scholar-Banquet on April 13.

Bottom Left: The NFF South Jersey Chapter celebrated two dozen scholar-athletes and recognized several community leaders for their contributions to the game. L–R: Rich Koeppel (Contribution to Amateur Football), Colleen Bandachowicz (Professional Administrative Assistant of the Year), Leon Daniels (Official of the Year), Keenan Wright (Coach of the Year), Pat Dioguardo (Athletic Trainer of the Year), Jim Donoghue (Distinguished American), and Mike Gatley (former Chapter President).

Bottom Right: The Walter J. Zable/San Diego Chapter staged its 52nd Annual Awards Dinner April 11. Ryan Stadtherr (Scripps Ranch HS) received the Walter J. Zable Player of the Year Award. He is pictured with his parents, Mark and Arcelia.

Photo: The Daily Gazette

Chicago State has its head coach — Bobby Rome II will lead the program as it begins its journey to Division I football!

Doug Kranwinkle, a member of the Rose Bowl Operating Company for many years and supporter of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, has passed away.

Kyren Lacy, who spent two seasons at Louisiana from 2020-21 before transferring to LSU and finishing his college career with the Tigers, has passed away. He was 24.

Dan Sullivan, who played collegiately at Boston College in the early 1960s and was later drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the 1962 NFL Draft, has passed away. He was 85.

Gerald "Jerry" David Menzel, who played on the offensive line at Colorado in the early 1950s, passed away peacefully April 3. He was 91.

Jerry W. Peveto, who played college football at Texas A&M and East Texas State (now Texas A&M Commerce) in the late 50s and early 60s before becoming a world champion rodeo cowboy, passed away April 10. He was 85.

Bill "Brother" Oliver, who played at Alabama on the 1961 National Championship team and later was the head coach at Chattanooga and the interim head coach at Auburn, passed away April 14. He was 85.

Name: David Powers
High School: St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)
College: Princeton University

How has football changed your life?

“It taught me what I did well and not so well as an athlete. It taught me to persevere through fatigue. I may or may not have been admitted to Princeton and Harvard without also being a recruited football athlete, but it didn't hurt, and I was admitted to both. I chose Princeton, and my head coach Bob Casciola later became President of the National Football Foundation. I won NFF Student Athlete Awards in high school from the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Chapter and in college from the Delaware Valley Chapter. I am very proud of those NFF awards, which are on display in my office 45+ years later.

I was on the Law Review of the University of Virginia Law School and was partner for many years of Baker Botts LLP, which took me from Washington, DC (1986-2005) to Hong Kong (2005-09) and then to Houston (2010-19) and now Corsicana and Dallas, where I live and work today.

Football clearly changed the arc of my life for the better.”

Share your football story with us! We want to know what football means to you, the lessons you learned, and the opportunities it provided.

April 16 — NFF Hampshire Honor Society announced

May 29 — 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Ballot released

June 17 — NFF Team of Distinction announced

July 24-26 — Campbell Trophy Summit at Stanford University

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