Every year one very lucky varsity football player is chosen by Head Football Coach Brandon Hickman for his achievements off the field to attend a banquet. But this isn’t just any banquet, this is the NFF (National Football Federations) banquet that takes place once a year at the Quorum Marriot in Dallas on April 14th.
Coach Hickman describes the event, “The NFF banquet recognizes players’ outstanding achievements in academics and community service in North Texas. About 50 high school and 10 college students were recognized.” Basically, a high school/college player’s coach nominates him for the award and then NFF looks at the player’s specific achievements and only a select few are chosen.
This year, Senior Patrick Finegan was nominated by Coach Hickman to attend the banquet and the NFF named him one of the select few for its recognition! Finegan was selected due to his huge efforts off the field to go the extra mile in community service, something that is difficult for many participating in varsity athletics. At the event he received the certificate for the best combination of athletic talent and academic achievement and was recognized for his extreme efforts off the field as well.
Finegan described the NFF banquet, “It was really amazing meeting some of the guys who had the same values/interests as me when it came to athletics and academics as well as meeting many of the guys who I will be going to college with in a few months and learning about them. Another great thing about the banquet was the guest speakers. DeLoss Dodds, who was a former University of Texas Athletic Director, and also a current player at TCU, spoke to us. They shared with us many of their favorite memories and some words of wisdom that I know will help down the road and that I won’t ever forget. It was an overall great experience and I’m so glad I got to be a part of it.”
Finegan will be attending Texas A&M next year on a pre-med track.
So overall, this NFF banquet serves not just as an award ceremony, but also as learning experience for the select few who deserved to be there.
