National Football Foundation Press Conference

I attended the National Football Foundation press conference for the annual awards ceremonies and Hall of Fame inductions yesterday, which went well despite the frenetic pace of the morning. I do not envy the media relations staff of the NFF as there is a lot to do in a limited amount of time. Phil Marwill and his crew do a great job keeping the flow going and balancing the needs of the media with the needs of the honorees. I was fortunate to not only get a great deal of material from comments made by the next class of Hall of Famers and the current student athletes honored for their current ability to excel at school and football while also contributing community work, but through interviews with some of the honorees in attendance. Most importantly I laid the groundwork for a future book, but more on that at a later date.
The event began with a presentation on the future 50,000 square foot home of the Hall of Fame, which is scheduled to break ground in downtown Atlanta in August of 2011 with a March 2013 scheduled opening date. The building certainly looks impressive and the ability to pair future inductions ceremonies with the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic every late summer make the decision to move the Hall from South Bend to Atlanta a brilliant one.
Next up, the next class of Hall of Famers plus special award winners Bill Cosby and Tom Brokaw. Two members of the class are no longer with us and North Carolina State great DT Dennis Byrd was represented by his son David and Arizona State's (and the country's) Pat Tillman was represented by his wife Marie. The others all expressed their humility and sense of joy at being honored, with former Arkansas lineman Ronnie Caveness, whose hat was bigger than former Navy DB Chet Moeller, getting the biggest laugh (not really for what he said but his general good-ol'-boy demeanor). Many of those being inducted stressed the importance of teammates, family and coaches, while former Colorado LB Alfred Williams, one of the youngest of the group, admitted that he broke down on his radio show when told that he made the Hall of Fame. Gene Stallings also got a laugh for knocking today's cream puff scheduling mentioning that while at Texas A&M his non conference schedule was LSU at Baton Rouge, Ohio State in Columbus and Michigan in Ann Arbor (I looked it up in The USA TODAY College football Encyclopedia--makes a great Christmas gift!--and the year was 1970 and is Aggies did beat LSU that season). Bill Cosby then went on a comic rant making fun of his playing days before Tom Brokaw finished that portion of the morning in his usual style.
I have to get to the library now but will delve into some of the interviews I conducted and mention the scholar-athletes honored yesterday.