NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE FOOTBALL HOF - CHICAGO METRO AWARDS

The NFF Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony will be at Halas Hall (1920 Football Drive in Lake Forest).  Thanks to a dollar-for-dollar match by the Chicago Bears and Bears Care, more than $20,000 in college scholarships will be provided.  Details are provided below.  Monday, February 19, 2018 (President's Day) from 3:30-6pm.   Jeff Joniak (the play-by-play Voice of the Chicago Bears) is the Master of Ceremonies. Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Hampton will be featured in a Q&A during the Awards Ceremony. The National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Awards will be provided to Chicago area high school seniors that excel in athletics, in the classroom and in the community.  Scholarship recipients are nominated by their high school coach each November.  The Award recipients are Louis Cox (St. Rita of Cascia High School), Jack Haefer (Batavia High School) and David Madden (St. Edward Central Catholic High School). The Chicago Bears Community Champion Awards will be presented to high school senior football players that have demonstrated excellence in their community and volunteer endeavors.  The Award recipients are Raymond Niro III (Barrington High School), Matthew Nolan (Wauconda High School) and Devon Rembis (St. Laurence High School). Since 2006, more than $225,000 in college scholarships have been provided to Chicago area student-athletes.  Each of the student-athletes receiving awards will receive partial tuition scholarships.  Nationally, more than $1 million in college scholarships are provided annually by the NFF. Among recent speakers and/or attendees at the event are Pro Football Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald, former Minnesota and NIU Head Coach Jerry Kill, Illinois State Head Coach Brock Spack, Mississippi State Joe Moorhead, Deloitte Tax Chairman and American Youth Football Hall of Famer Carl Allegretti, Chicago Bears (Richard Dent, Sherrick McManus, Steve McMichael, Brian Baschnagel, Gary Fencik, Bob Thomas, Emery Moorehead, Glen Kozlowski, Bobby Douglass), 2011 College Football National Championship Referee Bill LeMonnier, record-setting college QB's Dan Persa and Chandler Harnish, and more.  The NFF Mental Toughness Award will be presented to college football players from the University of Illinois (Nick Allegretti), Northern Illinois University (Chad Beebe), Northwestern University (Tyler Lancaster), Western Illinois University (Jaelon Acklin) and Illinois State University (Erik Mikkelson). Fred Mitchell will present the 2017 Fred Mitchell Award to Assumption College's Cole Tracy.  This Award is presented to the top FCS, Division II, Division III, NAIA or NJCAA place-kicker (750+ eligible kickers) based on performance on the football field and in the community.   Previous Award recipients include UNC-Pembroke's Matt Davis, St. Ambrose University's Matt Cotiguala, Concordia-St. Paul's Tom Obarski, Fordham's Patrick Murray, West Texas A&M's Sergio Castillo, Saint Xavier University's Tom Lynch and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's Jeff Schebler. Former NFL/college football players will attend.  Prior year attendees have included Chicago Bears President/CEO Ted Phillips, Chicago Bears ownership from the McCaskey family, Green Bay Packers President Mark Murphy, Heisman Trophy winners Gary Beban (UCLA) and John Lattner (Notre Dame), Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald, Northern Illinois Head Coach Rod Carey, North Carolina State Head Coach Dave Doeren, former Illinois Head Coaches Tim Beckman and Ron Zook, former NIU and Minnesota Head Coach Jerry Kill, Illinois State Head Coach Brock Spack, Saint Xavier Head Coach Mike Feminis, Purdue Head Coach Joe Tiller, College Football Hall of Famers (Jim Covert, Steve McMichael, Tom Beck, Chris Zorich, Chris Bisaillon, Leroy Keyes, Pat Fitzgerald), Pro Football Hall of Famers (Marv Levy, Richard Dent, Dave Casper, Ted Hendricks), John Mackey Award winner Tim Stratton, Kyle Orton, Jarrett Payton, Dan Jiggetts, Dave Revsine, Howard Griffith, Tom Zbikowski, Glen Kozlowski, Brian Baschnagel, Desmond Clark, Bobby Douglass, Gary Fencik, Bob Thomas, Emery Moorehead and more. Proceeds are used to provide college scholarships at this event, with a match provided by a generous contribution from Bears Care. Space is limited to 120 people on a first-to-register basis. Only registered attendees can attend the Awards Ceremony.  Your name must be on the attendee list for Halas Hall security to enter Halas Hall.  There are no paper tickets to this event. Business casual attire.  Soft drinks and bottled water will be provided.  Please contact Chris Kearney (chriskearney@prodigy.net) or Wolfe Tone (wtone@deloitte.com) if you have any questions.  Specal thanks again to the Chicago Bears and Bears Care!