Walter Camp Foundation Announces Major Award Winners
In preparation for its 57th National Awards Dinner, presented by 777 Partners, the Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced its Major Award recipients.
The “Head Ball Coach” Steve Spurrier (Florida ’67) will receive the Distinguished American award.
The Walter Camp “Distinguished American” award is presented each year to an individual who has utilized his or her talents to attain great success in business, private life, or public service and who may have accomplished that which no other has done. He or she may have a record of dedication to mankind that should not pass unrecognized and a life that has been dedicated to the preservation of the American ideal. The recipient need not have participated in football but must be one who understands its lesson of self-denial, cooperation, and teamwork, and one who is a person of honesty, integrity, and dedication. He or she must be a leader, an innovator, even a pioneer, who has reached a degree of excellence that distinguishes him or her from contemporaries, as well as someone who lives within the principles of Walter Camp.
Spurrier joins previous recipients of the Walter Camp Distinguished American honor include nationally respected sportscasters Keith Jackson (1995), Pat Summerall (2004) and Verne Lundquist (2014), all-purpose television personality Regis Philbin (2003), former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (1994), world-renowned entertainer Bob Hope (1985), former college coach Eddie Robinson (1982), former NFL standout Archie Manning, and last year’s recipient Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Coughlin.
NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews (USC ‘83) is the recipient of the Man of the Year honor.
The Walter Camp “Man of the Year” award honors an individual who has been closely associated with the game of football as a player, coach or close attendant to the game. He must have attained a measure of success and been a leader in his chosen profession. He must have contributed to the public service for the benefit of his community, country and his fellow man. He must have an impeccable reputation for integrity and must be dedicated to our American Heritage and the philosophy of Walter Camp.
Matthews joins a distinguished list of former “Man of the Year” winners, including Roger Staubach (Navy), Gale Sayers (Kansas), Dick Butkus (Illinois), John Elway (Stanford), Jerome Bettis (Notre Dame), and Curtis Martin (Pittsburgh).
The Walter Camp “Alumni of the Year” award is bestowed on a worthy individual who has distinguished himself in the pursuit of excellence as an athlete, in his personal career and in doing good works for others. He must be an individual who has exhibited dedication and good moral conduct in achieving success. He must be a compassionate and unselfish person who contributes his time and assistance in helping to encourage and comfort fellow human beings less talented and less fortunate than himself. He must be an individual who takes pride in having been a Walter Camp All-American.
Former Alumni Award recipients include including Bo Jackson (Auburn), Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh), Herschel Walker (Georgia), Tim Brown (Notre Dame), Doug Williams (Grambling State), Larry Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh) and Von Miller (Texas A&M).
Steve Spurrier – Distinguished American
A native of Miami Beach, Fla., Steve Spurrier became known for his play at quarterback for the University of Florida and earned Walter Camp All-America honors in 1966 after passing for 2,012 yards and 16 touchdowns for the 9-2 Gators. He also earned the Heisman Trophy for his efforts. Spurrier went on to play 10 seasons – as a quarterback and punter – in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He then went into coaching and served as an assistant at his alma mater Florida (1978), Georgia Tech (1979) and Duke (1980-82) before accepting the head coach position in the fledgling United States Football League for the Tampa Bay Bandits in 1983. He led the Bandits to two playoff appearances in three years before the league folded.
Spurrier returned to the collegiate ranks in 1987, serving as the head coach at Duke. He led the Blue Devils to two winning seasons in three years, including a bowl berth in 1989.
In 1990, he was named head coach at Florida and is credited for an innovative, wide-open passing game (known as “Fun-n-Gun”). Under his leadership, the Gators proceeded to win 122 games in 12 seasons, earned 12 bowl berths, and won six Southeastern Conference titles. Spurrier led Florida to the 1996 National Championship, a 52-20 victory over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl.
In 2002, he accepted the head coaching position with the then-called Washington Redskins. In 2005, he returned to the collegiate game, assuming the head job at University of South Carolina. He spent 11 seasons with the Gamecocks, leading them to 86 victories and nine bowl berths, including three straight 11-win seasons from 2011 to 2013.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017, making him just one of four members to be inducted as a both a player and coach. In 2016, the University of Florida renamed its home field, “Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.”
Spurrier and his wife Jerri have four children and 14 grandchildren.
A 1982 Walter Camp All-American, Bruce Matthews was a standout for the USC Trojans, where he was a two-time All-Pac-10 selection. He was selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers and proceed to play 18 seasons before retiring prior to the 2002 season at age 40.
Beginning in 1988 and continuing through his final year, he was selected to the Pro Bowl each and every season. His 14 consecutive Pro Bowls (9 at guard, 5 at center) tied Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen for the most ever.
He is considered to one of the most versatile offensive lineman to ever play in the NFL. Matthews was also named first-team All-Pro nine times (1988-1993, 1998-2000) and All-AFC 12 seasons (1988-1993, 1995-2000). He was selected as a guard on the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s.
In 2007, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His number 74 has been retired by the Tennessee franchise. In 2020, Matthews was named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team as one of the top 100 players of the first 100 years of the NFL.
A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Matthews comes from a football family. His father, Clay, played in the NFL in the 1950s. His brother, Clay, Jr., played 19 seasons in the NFL. Bruce and his wife, Carrie, have seven children, including this year’s Walter Camp Alumni Award winner Jake, the current starting left tackle for the Atlanta Falcons.
Born in Houston, Texas and the son of Walter Camp Man of the Year Bruce Matthews, Jake Matthews attended the Texas A&M University and was four-year standout for the Aggies. He earned Walter Camp All-America honors in 2013 and was a two-time unanimous All-Southeastern Conference selection.
Selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round (6th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft, Matthews has played all 10 seasons with the Falcons. In 2016, Matthews and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, when they faced the New England Patriots. Following the 2018 season, Matthews earned his first Pro Bowl selection for his play at left tackle. Since 2015, Matthews has been a standard of consistency and durability – playing at least 1,000 snaps every season.
Jake and his wife Meggi have one son, Beckett.
The Major Award winners will be honored, along with the members of the 2023 Walter Camp All-America Team, Player of Year Jayden Daniels (LSU) and Coach of Year Kalen DeBoer (Washington; now at Alabama) at the Foundation’s 57th National Awards Dinner, presented by 777 Partners, on Saturday, March 16 in New Haven. National Awards Dinner tickets are $350 and available at https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=H4Q8LBUAJGE7S
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation (www.waltercamp.org,@WalterCampFF) – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. The Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s website, www.ncfaa.org
