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BIG 12 CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 17, 2018

Matthew Sign

Frisco, Texas

THE MODERATOR: We're now going to welcome Matthew Sign the COO of the National Football Foundation. Matthew, it's your show.

MATTHEW SIGN: Thank you very much, appreciate it. Good morning and on behalf of our chairman, Archie Manning, our board of directors and the over 12,000 members of the National Football Foundation and college Hall of Fame, it is an honor and privilege to be here with you today. I would like to recognize the members of the Football Writers Association of America led by Executive Director, Steve Richardson. If you are not a member of the FWAA you have an obligation to yourself and to your profession to join. I highly encourage you to get involved.

I would also like to thank Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, his entire staff and the ten institutions of the Big 12 Conference for their ongoing support of our programs and initiatives that preserve the past, promote the present, prepare the future, and protect the game and the opportunities it provides. Those programs and initiatives include the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. A nationwide system of chapters in 47 states. There are 121 chapters and they reach 6,000 high schools and over 600,000 high school football players.

Our nationwide national scholar athlete program, which is featured with the presentation of the William V. Campbell Trophy to college football's top scholar athlete. The recipient of the Campbell Trophy is recognized at the annual awards dinner in New York City which will be held Tuesday, December 4th.

The Campbell Trophy recipient will be announced will be joined by other major awardees, the recognition of the finalist for the Campbell Trophy and the highlight of the evening, the induction of the College Football Hall of Fame class, which includes former University of Texas head football coach Mack Brown.

The 2019 College Football Hall of Fame ballot which was recently released includes six players from five schools in the Big 12, two players and two coaches from two schools.

The 2019 College Football Hall of Fame class will be announced the morning of the CFP National Championship in Santa Clara.

This past winter, the National Football Foundation launched its newest and most important initiative "Football Matters."

This initiative is a campaign of positivity to promote the good in the game. By celebrating and spotlighting the game, its benefits and its opportunities, we believe we can be a unifying voice for the game, create a source of ongoing good and fair information, energize an active community of supporters, while creating new ones, and create original programming that engages and touches every level of the game. We will accomplish these goals with a comprehensive grass roots effort that reaches every part of the country through public service announcements, a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week news bureau and social networking.

By the way, please follow us at Football Matters, and if you don't believe that football matters let me remind you of the recent release on the growth of college football.

Participation will be at an all-time high, 778 institutions across all levels will be fielding teams this year. In the past decade alone, 74 schools have added football, 14 of which come from within the Big 12 footprint. What it shows is that the game, despite its issues and detractors, remains strong. The National Football Foundation does not apologize for a love and support of the game, and we remain every positive of its future, because football does matter.

Thank you, again, for your time, attention, and support. Please remember to follow us at Football Matters.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Matthew.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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