Monday Chalktalk - NCAAF News & Notes for January 5

Jan 6, 2009 - 3:18 AM www.footballfoundation.com

Nobis Represents Texas During 2009 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National HOF Salute

Former Texas LB Tommy Nobis, a member of the 1981 College Football Hall of Fame class, will represent the Longhorns during the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Hall of Fame Salute tonight. The salute recognizes the most recent College Football Hall of Fame inductees during the pregame ceremonies, annual parade and fan fest activities. With the Jan. 5 game pitting No. 10 Ohio State against No. 3 Texas in Glendale, Ariz., 2008 inductee Coach John Cooper will represent the Buckeyes, and Nobis has stepped forward as a symbol for the Longhorns. In addition to Cooper, The 2008 class members who will be attending include: Billy Cannon, LSU; Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern; Wilber Marshall, Florida; Rueben Mayes, Washington State; Randall McDaniel, Arizona State; Don McPherson, Syracuse; Jay Novacek, Wyoming; Dave Parks, Texas Tech; Ron Simmons, Florida State; and Arnold Tucker, Army.

NFF National Scholar-Athletes in the News

1997 Draddy Trophy recipient Peyton Manning (Tennessee) has been named 2008 Associated Press NFL Player of the Year. Manning and his brother Eli Manning (Mississippi) both were NFF National Scholar-Athletes and respective Most Valuable Players in the 2007 and '08 Super Bowls.

2008 NFF National Scholar-Athlete and Associated Press All-America placekicker Louie Sakoda (also handles punts for the Utes) closed his career with a field goal, four PATs, some solid punting, and field positioning kickoff deeds as Utah became the only FBS squad to finish undefeated at 13- 0.

To become a member of the National Scholar- Athlete Alumni Association, please contact NFF Director of Special Projects Hillary Jeffries at 800-486- 1865 or via email at hjeffries@footballfoundation.com.

To become an NFF member, please contact NFF Director of Membership Ron Dilatush at 800-486- 1865 or via email at rdilatush@footballfoundation.com. Worldwide membership now is at 12,000-plus in 121 chapters.

For the weekly College Football Insiders newsletter, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announcements and more information on the NFF and college football, please visit www.footballfoundation.com.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Supports NFF's Play It Smart Program

The Chick-fil-A Bowl's support of the NFF's Play It Smart program in Atlanta public schools has created major improvements in high school graduation rates and college enrollment for participants in the region. The organization now hopes to utilize its already- established scholarship program for schools that participate in the Chick-fil-A Bowl to select students from the Play It Smart program.

Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Recipients

The 2008 winners of the Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year Award for success, integrity, and sportsmanship both on and off the field are: Alabama's Nick Saban in the FBS division; James Madison's Mickey Matthews in the FCS division; Pittsburg (Kan.) State's Chuck Broyles in Division II; Mount Union's Larry Kehres in Division III. The recipients came from a pool of over 700 college head coaches nationwide. For additional information, please access www.coachoftheyear.com. From 2006-08 approximately $680,000 has been donated by Liberty Mutual the charities of the winning coaches.

Heisman Trophy Winners Honored at BCS National Championship Game

Of the 15 Heisman winners who have played in the FedEx Orange Bowl, 10 past recipients will return for honors during the 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship on Jan. 8, including Danny Wuerffel representing the Gators who will be playing in the game and Billy Sims for the Sooners. The other Hesiman winners slated to be on hand include: Gino Torretta, Miami; Doug Flutie, Boston College; Desmond Howard, Michigan; Andre Ware, Houston; Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh; Marcus Allen, USC; Ty Detmer, BYU; and Pete Dawkins, Army. The 2005 FedEx Orange Bowl showcased the first ever match-up between present or future Heisman winners when Oklahoma's Jason White took on USC's Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. This year's game creates the second such match-up with Hesiman winners Tim Tebow from Florida battling Sam Bradford from Oklahoma.

Two-Minute Drill

The 2008 Armed Forces Bell Helicopter Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, featured U.S. Gen. David Petraeus (Army, Princeton M.P.A.) as Achievement Award recipient and ceremonial pregame coin tosser for the Dec. 31 skirmish... At the final edition of the Cotton Bowl Classic in its Dallas venue, Betty Sanford, the widow of game founder J. Curtis Sanford, conducted the opening coin flip. She was joined by former bowl chairmen as well as the current executive committee... The AT&T Cotton Bowl attracted a record 88,175 partisans and is second to the 2009 Rose Bowl presented by Citi (93,293 turnout) in 2008-09 bowl attendance...

Houston captured its first bowl in 28 years with a triumph over Air Force in the Armed Forces Bell Helicopter Bowl. The Cougars last prevailed in the 1980 Cotton Bowl... Vanderbilt won its second postseason game overall and first bowl since the 1955 Gator Bowl by downing Boston College in the Music City Bowl... Kentucky has won three consecutive bowl games for the first time in the school's 118-season football annals... Maryland captured its 600th all-time win in the 2008 Roady's Humanitarian Bowl... Ole Miss scored the second-most points in an AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic in history (to Southern California's 55 points in 1995) in a 47-34 triumph over previously 11-1 Texas Tech... The 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl between Missouri and Northwestern was the 10th-highest-rated bowl encounter in ESPN history with a 4.6 rating, 4,479,466 households and 7.2 million viewers...

Miami (Ohio) named Michael Haywood head coach... Terry Bowden, former head coach at Auburn and Samford, has been tapped for the same post at North Alabama... Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham has received a new, five-year contract... Monte Kiffin received formal approval as defensive coordinator at Tennessee... Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis underwent successful right knee replacement surgery last week and was up walking on the leg within 24 hours of the procedure... Former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron has been named assistant coach at Tennessee... Syracuse named Scott Shafer defensive coordinator and Kevin Van Derzee director of football operations... Fred Oien will retire as director of athletics at South Dakota State after 30 years on Apr. 8, 2009... Carl Kirschner has been named interim director of athletics at Rutgers... Tulsa's Todd Graham and Rice's David Baliff each received contract extensions... Lance Barrow, CBS' lead NFL and golf producer, has been named Abilene Christian University's alumnus of the year.

Key NFF Dates

Jan. 5, 2009: National Hall of Fame Salute at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Glendale, Ariz. Jan. 9, 2009: Presentation of MacArthur Trophy to BCS champion - Miami, Fla.

2009 BCS Schedule

Jan. 5: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Glendale, Ariz., Fox Jan. 8: FedEx BCS National Championship - Miami Gardens, Fla., Fox

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