[Editor's note: the following article is courtesy of the National Football Foundation]
DALLAS, Oct. 18, 2010 - The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today that former NCAA Executive Vice President Tom Jernstedt (Alpha Sigma/Oregon 1966) will be recognized with an NFF Legacy Award during the 2010 NFF Annual Awards Dinner, which will take place Dec. 7 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
"Since the early 1970s, Tom Jernstedt has been a steady and powerful force in the growth of intercollegiate athletics while playing a pivotal role in expanding opportunities for student-athletes," said NFF President and CEO Steven J. Hatchell. "Tom is a true pioneer and visionary who been one of the key invisible hands that have helped guide college athletics during the past four decades. We are proud to recognize him for his contributions that will benefit countless generations for years to come."
Jernstedt will be recognized at the 2010 Annual Awards Dinner in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 1,500 of the most powerful and influential people in the world of college football. Also that night, the NFF will induct the 2010 College Football Hall of Fame Class from the Football Bowl Subdivision, distribute $300,000 in scholarships to the 2010 Class of NFF National Scholar-Athletes, and present its major awards to some of our nation's finest leaders.
A graduate of the University Oregon, where he played quarterback and offensive end for Hall of Fame Coach Len Casanova from 1964-66, Jernstedt got his start in athletics administration working for Casanova who had become the Oregon athletics director. Jernstedt left Oregon and joined the NCAA in 1972 as a director of events, earning a promotion to assistant executive director just two years later. He subsequently held a number of senior-level management positions during the next four decades, culminating in his appointment in 2003 as executive vice president and second in command of the organization. In August 2010, Jernstedt announced his retirement after 38 years of service with the NCAA.
During his tenure at the NCAA, Jernstedt oversaw Division I Football, and he served as the president of USA Basketball and on the board of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He played a key role in nurturing the growth of the NCAA Basketball tournament from $1 million in revenue and 32 teams in 1972, the year before he ran the tournament, to 68 teams this coming year and a new $10.8 billion television rights deal that runs from 2011 to 2024.
"He's the guy more than anybody else who has allowed the event to evolve," said Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, who serves on the NFF Board, in a 2008 interview with the Sports Business Journal. "The beauty of the tournament is the way it's been allowed to grow from the bottom up, not from the top down. And that's a credit to Tom. His genius is the subtlety of his leadership."
About the National Football Foundation & College 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, 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. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.
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