Going behind the glitz and glamour of NFCA awards - Page 4

Let's move on to the not-so-easy award. The prestigious, the coveted, NFCA Hall of Fame. The highest honor from our Association! I want to break down the process and some history about the Hall of Fame. We currently have 83 coaches and dignitaries inducted into the Hall of Fame since 1991. Each year that number grows ever-so-slightly thanks to our amazing Hall of Fame Committee and our VP of Awards who sits as the Committee Chair. The HOF committee is representative of every division from Division I to Travel Ball. Each rep is nominated through the membership and appointed by the nominating committee.

The process. It all starts with you. Someone must be nominated for the Hall of Fame in order to be considered. It is lengthy, some might say grueling or tedious. The committee however, would say necessary. The nomination process itself takes commitment and dedication. Multiple letters of recommendation, supporting articles, biographies, research, resumes, records, backgrounds, stories, fingerprints…okay I made up the last one but everything else is required. The time it takes shows just how much the coaches in the pool of nominations mean to their colleagues.

That takes me to the pool of nominations, we like to call this the "hopper." Once a coach is submitted, they remain in the hopper for five years. After five years they must be removed from the hopper for one year but can be resubmitted from there. Nominations can (and should) be updated each year. The deadline to complete and submit the online nomination is November 1^st every year. After that time the committee receives all of the coaches in the hopper. Some of you might think name recognition might place some coaches ahead of others…we've got that covered. The committee now initially reviews all applicants "blindly." Every coach has their name, school, division, and conference completely redacted from their nomination. I used to do this by hand! Take a Sharpie and redact every item, scan the documents into a secure folder, and repeat for all candidates. I had to wear a mask before masks were required! Thanks to our Director of Publications, I now know there is a program that does all that work for me…THANK YOU, DAVE!

The HOF committee then reviews all of the redacted files and narrows the selection pool from there. Using this blind review, they separate any biases associated with names, schools, or divisions. Once they have selected their smaller pool of candidates they dive in from there! They take the time to research each and every candidate, make personal phone calls, and gather as much additional information on their careers, character, and overall contributions to the game. The committee then brings all of this research to their meeting at the NFCA National Convention. They meet multiple times before Friday evening, in an undisclosed location, without even myself present. This allows the Committee to have full reign over the process, open discourse, and private discussions. The next year's class is determined in this meeting, behind closed doors. The selected honorees are then passed from the Chair to one member of the NFCA staff. This staff member creates the super-secret reveal image used at the very end of the Hall of Fame Reception on Friday night at Convention. It is always the hope of the committee that each member of the future class will be present at the Hall of Fame Reception on Friday night, so they hear their name read in person with all the glory, applause, and excitement. For some, this will be the highlight of their careers! 

*Check out one of our favorite Hall of Fame induction videos below. These videos play before the inductees speech and are typically an awesome surprise on their special night!

Are you reading this thinking, "I want to nominate someone but I don't know where to start?" That's where I come in! Email annie@nfca.org or feel free to give me a call at NFCA Headquarters (502-409-4600). I'd be happy to walk through the process with you!

Thanks for traveling across the NFCA awards process with me…remember the best way to win anything at the NFCA is to log in to your Coach's Box! Oh…and fill out the nominations! 

Until next time,