National Football Foundation, Ivy League Partner Again for Asa S. Bushnell Cup Presentation

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DALLAS -- The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) and the Ivy League announced today that the organizations will co-host for the second-consecutive year the presentation of the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, which honors the Ivy League Football Players of the Year, as part of the festivities surrounding the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York City.

The Asa S. Bushnell Cup will be presented Monday, Dec. 5, the day before the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, at a special reception and press conference in the Astor Room of the famed Waldorf=Astoria Hotel at 11:30 a.m. For the first time in the award's 41-year history, the Ivy League will recognize both offensive and defensive players of the year, honoring each as a recipient of the Asa S. Bushnell Cup from their respective sides of play.

Two offensive and two defensive finalists will be on hand at the press conference along with their respective head coaches. Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris will unveil the winners' names, one from each side of the ball, at the event in front of a packed crowd of media representatives, NFF Board members and notable Ivy League football alumni and dignitaries.

"Hosting this presentation in conjunction with the National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner festivities is a wonderful way to honor our Bushnell Cup winners and finalists and to pay tribute to the rich tradition of Ivy League football," said Harris. "We appreciate the National Football Foundation's continued support of this event, which allows us to showcase our shared values regarding student-athlete academic, athletic and community success."

Presented annually since 1970, The Asa S. Bushnell Cup honors its namesake, a 1921 Princeton alumnus and the commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference from 1938 to 1970. The Bushnell Cup is presented by the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football Officials and is awarded by a vote of the Ivy League's eight head football coaches to the players who display outstanding qualities of leadership, competitive spirit, contribution to the team, and accomplishments on the field.

"We are extremely proud to join forces with the Ivy League for a second year, co-hosting the presentation of the Bushnell Cup," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Last year's event was a resounding success, attracting a packed room to honor the recipients who truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal. It is a great honor for our organization to play a role in this presentation."

Asa S. Bushnell Cup All-Time Recipient List
1970 Jim Chasey, QB, Dartmouth & Ed Marinaro, RB, Cornell
1971 Ed Marinaro, RB, Cornell
1972 Dick Jauron, RB, Yale
1973 Jim Stoeckel, QB, Harvard
1974 Walt Snickenberger, RB, Princeton
1975 Doug Jackson, RB, Columbia
1976 John Pagliaro, RB, Yale
1977 John Pagliaro, RB, Yale
1978 Buddy Teevens, QB, Dartmouth
1979 Tim Tumpane, LB, Yale
1980 Kevin Czinger, MG, Yale
1981 Rich Diana, RB, Yale
1982 John Witkowski, QB, Columbia
1983 Derrick Harmon, RB, Cornell
1984 Tim Chambers, DB, Penn
1985 Tom Gilmore, DT, Penn
1986 Rich Comizio, RB, Penn
1987 Kelly Ryan, QB, Yale
1988 Jason Garrett, QB, Princeton
1989 Judd Garrett, RB, Princeton
1990 Shon Page, RB, Dartmouth
1991 Al Rosier, RB, Dartmouth
1992 Jay Fiedler, QB, Dartmouth
1993 Keith Elias, RB, Princeton
1994 Pat Goodwillie, LB, Penn
1995 Dave Patterson, LB, Princeton
1996 Chad Levitt, RB, Cornell
1997 Sean Morey, WR, Brown
1998 Jim Finn, RB, Penn
1999 James Perry, QB, Brown
2000 Gavin Hoffman, QB, Penn
2001 Carl Morris, WR, Harvard
2002 Carl Morris, WR, Harvard
2003 Mike Mitchell, QB, Penn
2004 Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Harvard
2005 Nick Hartigan, RB, Brown
2006 Jeff Terrell, QB, Princeton
2007 Mike McLeod, RB, Yale
2008 Chris Pizzotti, QB, Harvard
2009 Buddy Farnham, WR, Brown & Jake Lewko, LB, Penn
2010 Gino Gordon, RB, Harvard & Nick Schwieger, RB, Dartmouth

The following evening on Dec. 6, the NFF will stage its 54th Annual Awards Dinner also at the Waldorf=Astoria. As the culmination of the regular season, the event features the induction of the 2011 College Football Hall of Fame class from the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) as well as the presentation of the NFF Gold Medal, the organization's highest honor, which has been claimed by seven U.S. Presidents, four U.S. Generals, three U.S. Admirals, 26 corporate CEOs, and one U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

The 2011 NFF Gold Medal recipient will be announced shortly. This year's hall of fame class includes Carlos Alvarez (Florida), Doug English (Texas), Bill Enyart (Oregon State), Eddie George (Ohio State), Marty Lyons (Alabama), Russell Maryland (Miami, Fla.), Deion Sanders (Florida State), Jake Scott (Georgia), Will Shields (Nebraska), Sandy Stephens (Minnesota), Darryl Talley (West Virginia), Clendon Thomas (Oklahoma), Rod Waldrop (Arizona), Gene Washington (Michigan State), coach Lloyd Carr (Michigan), and coach Fisher DeBerry (Air Force).

The first organization in history to provide post-graduate scholarships based on a player's combined academic, athletic and leadership abilities, the NFF also utilizes the event's national stage to distribute $295,000 to the winners of the highly sought-after NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. The scholar-athlete class will be announced on the last Thursday in October. During the event, one member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete class will be declared, in dramatic fashion, the winner of the coveted William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, as the nation's top scholar-athlete from all divisions of play.

Six NFF National Scholar-Athletes have claimed the Asa S. Bushnell Cup: Dick Jauron (Yale, 1972), Kevin Czinger (Yale, 1980), Richard Diana (Yale, 1981), Tom Gilmore (Penn, 1985), Keith Elias (Princeton, 1993), and Nick Hartigan (Brown, 2005). Ed Marinaro (Cornell) is only past recipient inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Jauron has been on the ballot for induction for the past several years. Several past Asa S. Bushnell Cup recipients currently hold impressive coaching positions, including: Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys Director of Pro Scouting Judd Garrett, Holy Cross head coach Tom Gilmore, Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron, Princeton offensive coordinator James Perry, and Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens.

Several more of college football's most prestigious honors will be bestowed at the event, including the Distinguished American Award (2011 recipient Dr. Archie Roberts); the Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award (2011 recipient TBA); the John L. Toner Award for superior abilities in athletics administration (2011 recipient Tim Curley from Penn State); the Outstanding Football Official Award (2011 recipient Ted Ruta); and the Chris Schenkel Award for excellence in broadcasting (2011 recipient TBA). The remaining recipients of the 2011 NFF Major Awards, including the Gold Medal, will be announced in the coming weeks.

ABOUT THE IVY LEAGUE
Founded in 1954, the Ivy League includes Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton and Yale Universities, Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania, and provides the country's widest intercollegiate athletic opportunities for both men and women, with over 8,000 athletes competing each year. The Ivy League annually finishes among the top conferences in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics competitive rankings, and Ivy student-athletes annually compile the country's best records in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Academic Performance Ratings.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
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, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 121 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame, the NFF Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity, Play It Smart, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association, the NFF Gridiron Clubs of New York City, Dallas, and Los Angeles, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF presents the MacArthur Bowl, the Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. For more information, please visit www.footballfoundation.org.