Each football season, The National Football Foundation

National Football Foundation

The National Football Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1947 by General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army Black Knights football coach Earl "Red" Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice...

 & College Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...

 pays tribute to a select few with awards of excellence for exhibiting superior qualities of scholarship, citizenship and leadership. Additionally, the Foundation also recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding support for the NFF and its mission of promoting the game of amateur football. The NFF Gold Medal is the highest award offered by the NFF.

Gold Medal Qualifications

Recipient’s life must reflect the values of those who have excelled in amateur sport, particularly football. He or she must have achieved success in an industrial, business, financial, educational, professional or related career and American citizen, most of whose business life has been spent in the United States. Moreover, they must have an unblemished reputation for honesty and integrity.

Additionally, he or she must have "contributed notably in public service to the welfare of his country and fellow citizens," either as a private citizen or as a government official or both. and have shown a capacity for dedicated institutional commitment to the problem of our competitive economy versus a centrally dictated society and a concern for the human spirit as well as the mind. Recipient may be an elected or appointed federal or state government official, or a member of Congress or any state legislative body, however, they shall not be selected because of political power or on a partisan basis.

Selection Process

Various individuals associated with The National Football Foundation, such as former recipients, board members, corporate leaders, chapter presidents and friends, send nominations and suggestions to the NFF Chairman.
Selection of the recipient is made by the Awards Committee and ratified by the Board of Directors.

National Football Foundation Gold Medal Winners

The Gold Medal, the NFF’s highest honor, has been presented to seven U.S. Presidents, four U.S. Generals, three U.S. Admirals, one U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 25 Corporate CEOs and Chairmen.

1958 - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

1959 - Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

 

1960 - Herbert C. Hoover and Amos Alonzo Stagg

Amos Alonzo Stagg

Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...

 

1961 - John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 

1962 - Byron "Whizzer" White 

1963 - Roger Q. Blough

1964 - Donold B. Lourie 

1965 - Juan T. Trippe

1966 - Earl H. "Red" Blaik

1967 - Frederick L. Hovde

1968 - Chester J. LaRoche

1969 - Richard M. Nixon 

1970 - Thomas J. Hamilton

Tom Hamilton (coach)

Thomas James "Tom" Hamilton was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and naval aviator who rose to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy...

1971 - Ronald W. Reagan

1972 - Gerald R. Ford

1973 - John Wayne

John Wayne

Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...

1974 - Gerald B. Zornow

1975 - David Packard

David Packard

David Packard was a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard , serving as president , CEO , and Chairman of the Board . He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969–1971 during the Nixon administration...

1976 - Edgar B. Speer

1977 - Louis H. Wilson

1978 - Vincent dePaul Draddy

1979 - William P. Lawrence

1980 - Walter J. Zable

1981 - Justin W. Dart

1982 - Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA)

Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA)

The Silver Anniversary Awards are given each year by the American National Collegiate Athletic Association to recognize six distinguished former student-athletes on their 25th anniversary as college graduates. The Silver Anniversary Awards were first given in 1973, when five distinguished former...

 - All Honored Jim Brown

Jim Brown

James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...

, Willie Davis,
Jack Kemp

Jack Kemp

Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...

, Ron Kramer

Ron Kramer

Ronald J. Kramer was a multi-sport college athlete and professional American football player. Before embarking on a career in the National Football League, he lettered in football, basketball, and track at the University of Michigan in the 1950s...

, Jim Swink

1983 - Jack Kemp

Jack Kemp

Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...

1984 - John F. McGillicuddy

1985 - William I. Spencer

1986 - William H. Morton

1987 - Charles R. Meyer

1988 - Clinton E. Frank

1989 - Paul Brown

Paul Brown

Paul Eugene Brown was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development of the National Football League...

1990 - Thomas H. Moorer

1991 - George H. Bush

1992 - Donald R. Keough

1993 - Norman Schwarzkopf

1994 - Thomas S. Murphy

1995 - Harold Alfond

1996 - Gene Corrigan

1997 - Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...

1998 - John H. McConnell

1999 - Keith Jackson

Keith Jackson

Keith Jackson is an American sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports , his coverage of college football , his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary, and his distinctive voice, with its deep cadence, and operatic tone considered "like Edward R...

 

2000 - Fred M. Kirby II

2001 - Billy Joe "Red" McCombs

Red McCombs

Billy Joe "Red" McCombs is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin...

2002 - George M. Steinbrenner III

2003 - General Tommy R. Franks (Ret.)

2004 - William V. Campbell

2005 - Jon F. Hanson

2006 - Joe Paterno

Joe Paterno

Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...

 and Bobby Bowden

Bobby Bowden

Robert Cleckler "Bobby" Bowden is a retired college football coach. He coached the Florida State Seminoles football team from the 1976 to 2009 seasons...

2007 - Pete Dawkins

Pete Dawkins

Peter Miller Dawkins is a Heisman Trophy winner, Rhodes Scholar, U.S. Army Brigadier General, and Republican candidate for Senate. He is the former vice chairman of Citigroup Private Bank.-Early life, education and athletic career:...

 and Roger Staubach

Roger Staubach

Roger Thomas Staubach is a businessman, Heisman Trophy winner and legendary Hall of Fame former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 until 1979. Staubach was instrumental in developing the Cowboys into becoming one of the best teams of the 1970s and led the team to nine of the Cowboys'...

 

2008 - John Glenn

John Glenn

John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...

2009 - Phil Knight

Phil Knight

Philip Hampson "Phil" Knight is an American business magnate. He is the co-founder and Chairman of Nike, Inc. He resigned as the company's chief executive officer in 2004, while retaining the position of chairman of the board...

 and Bill Bowerman

Bill Bowerman

William Jay "Bill" Bowerman was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 24 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers...

2010 - Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby

William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...

See also

• Walter Camp Man of the Year
  Walter Camp Man of the Year
  The Walter Camp Man of the Year is one of seven awards given annually by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. The award is given to the "Man of the Year" in the world of college football. It honors an individual who has been closely associated with the game of American football as a player, coach...
  
  
• Walter Camp Distinguished American Award
  Walter Camp Distinguished American Award
  The Walter Camp Distinguished American Award is presented by the Walter Camp Football Foundation to an individual who has used his or her talents to attain great success in business, private life or public service and who may have accomplished that which no other has done.The recipient does not...
  
  
• Walter Camp Alumni of the Year
  Walter Camp Alumni of the Year
  The Walter Camp “Alumni of the Year” award is bestowed by the Walter Camp Football Foundation on a worthy individual who has distinguished himself in the pursuit of excellence as an athlete, in his personal career and in doing good works for others. He must be an individual who has exhibited...
  
  
• Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
  Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
  The Amos Alonzo Stagg Award is presented annually by the American Football Coaches Association to the “individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football’’. Recipients receive a plaque which is a replica of the one given to...
  
  
• National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award
  National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award
  The National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award is among the highest offered by the National Football Foundation . Every year, the NFF & College Football Hall of Fame pays tribute to a select few with awards of excellence for exhibiting superior qualities of scholarship, citizenship...
  
  
• National Football Foundation Gold Medal Winners
• Theodore Roosevelt Award (NCAA)
  Theodore Roosevelt Award (NCAA)
  The Theodore Roosevelt Award is the highest honor the National Collegiate Athletic Association may confer on an individual. The award is awarded annually to a graduate from an NCAA member institution who earned a varsity letter in college for participation in intercollegiate athletics, and who...
  
  
• Walter Payton Man of the Year Award
  Walter Payton Man of the Year Award
  The Walter Payton Man of the Year award is given annually by the National Football League honoring a player's volunteer and charity work, as well as his excellence on the field. Prior to 1999, it was called simply the NFL Man of the Year Award...
  
  
• "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award
  "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award
  The Byron "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award has been awarded by the National Football League Players Association continuously since 1966. The most recent winner, for the 2010 season, is Tony Richardson of the New York Jets...
  
  

External links

• Official Website
• 2007 Press Release