Event creates a unique opportunity to hear from some of the game’s most iconic names before the 58th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 in NYC.
IRVING, Texas (Dec. 3, 2015) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame and the American Sports Network (ASN), a division of the Sinclair Networks Group, LLC, which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI), announced today that ASN will televise a live NFF Red Carpet Show leading into the 58th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 at the historic Waldorf Astoria in New York City. (Visit www.americansportsnet.com for a full list of stations and times throughout the country.)
The show, which will run from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. ET, will feature highly regarded sports journalist Bonnie Bernstein and ASN host Doug Chapman on the NFF Red Carpet in New York with Jorge Andres anchoring from ASN studios in West Palm Beach, Fla. Tom Piero and Craig Haffner will share coordinating producing responsibilities. Anticipated high-profile guests include Archie Griffin, Jerry Jones, Archie Manning, Roger Staubach, Danny Wuerffel and members of the 2015 College Football Hall of Fame Class. LTN Global Communications (www.ltnglobal.com) will be providing live video transmission services from New York City to the ASN headquarters in West Palm Beach, Fla.
“We are grateful for the American Sports Network and their efforts in staging the NFF Red Carpet Show at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner this year,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “Their coverage will create an unprecedented opportunity for capturing the excitement, pomp and pageantry of our event, allowing fans at home to hear directly from some of the game’s greatest stars and its most influential leaders.”
In addition to the 2015 College Football Hall of Fame Class, the show will feature many other high profile attendees, including returning Hall of Famers, current college football head coaches, athletics directors, conference commissioners and numerous other celebrities and influential people.
“The National Football Foundation Awards Dinner provides an excellent opportunity to create engaging original content for our viewers,” said Doron Gorshein, COO of Sinclair Networks Group. “The NFF Red Carpet Show provides a fitting conclusion to the end of our regular college football season programming, with content that brings unique value to our viewers.”
Hall of Famers in the current class who will be prominently featured during the NFF Red Carpet Show include Trev Alberts (Nebraska), Brian Bosworth (Oklahoma), Bob Breunig (Arizona State), Sean Brewer (Millsaps [Miss.]), Ruben Brown (Pittsburgh), Wes Chandler (Florida), Thom Gatewood (Notre Dame), Dick Jauron (Yale), Clinton Jones (Michigan State), Lincoln Kennedy (Washington), Rob Lytle (Michigan), Michael Payton (Marshall), Art Still (Kentucky), Zach Thomas (Texas Tech), Ricky Williams (Texas) and coaches Bill Snyder (Kansas State) and Jim Tressel (Youngstown State and Ohio State).
The 2015 NFF Major Award recipients, who will also walk the NFF Red Carpet, include former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (NFF Gold Medal), Rear Adm. Bill Byrne of the United States Naval Academy (NFF Distinguished American Award), Capt. Jared Tew of the United States Air Force Academy (NFF Distinguished American Award), Maj. Graham White of the United States Military Academy (NFF Distinguished American Award), former Princeton placekicker Charlie Gogolak and former Cornell placekicker Pete Gogolak (NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award), Michigan State Director of Athletics Mark Hollis (NFF John L. Toner Award), LSU broadcaster Jim Hawthorne (NFF Chris Schenkel Award), former Big 12 Senior Associate Commissioner Donnie Duncan (NFF Legacy Award) and former SEC Commissioner Mike Slive (NFF Legacy Award).
Members of the 2015 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class and Campbell Trophy finalists, presented by Fidelity Investments, who also might appear during the broadcast, include E.K. Binns (Navy), Jacoby Boren (Ohio State), Jake Brendel (UCLA), Taveze Calhoun (Mississippi State), Derek Crittenden (Montana), Ty Darlington (Oklahoma), Jordan Dobrich (Nevada), Spencer Drango (Baylor), Blake Frohnapfel (Massachusetts), Jordan Italiano (Kent State), Hank Spencer (Mount Union [Ohio]) and Jason Vander Laan (Ferris State [Mich.]).
For the 2015-2016 season, ASN televised 83 live football games from multiple NCAA Division I college conferences, in addition to 11 games from NCAA Division II conferences, including analysis from the game’s top experts, delving into the human side of competition and showing the best of today’s student-athletes. ASN’s website, www.americansportsnet.com, is the home for sports stories, videos, polls and contests that touch all aspects of college athletics no matter what court, field or arena they are played.