Walter Camp “Player of the Year” Recipient and Nation’s Oldest “All-America Team” Will Be Announced Dec. 11

New Haven, CT – New Haven-based Walter Camp Football Foundation will be in the national spotlight on Thursday, December 11th.

The recipient of the 2014 Walter Camp Player of the Year award will be presented during the 6 p.m. edition of ESPN SportsCenter. Foundation President James Monico will present the Player of the Year award on behalf of the organization.  The five finalists for the 2014 Player of the Year award are quarterbacks Trevone Boykin (TCU) and Marcus Mariota (Oregon) along with wide receiver Amari Cooper (Alabama), running back Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin) and linebacker Scooby Wright III (Arizona).

Walter Camp 2014 Player of the Year Finalists

Later that evening, the Walter Camp All-America team, the nation’s oldest college football All-America squad, will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show (7 p.m. EST) in Orlando, Fla. It will be the 125th All-America team selected .

The 2014 Walter Camp Player of the Year and members of the All-America team will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet, presented by First Niagara Bank, on Saturday, January 17, 2015 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. In addition, the Foundation will recognize three individuals – broadcasting legend Verne Lundquist (Distinguished American), former Notre Dame and Pittsburgh Steeler standout running back Jerome Bettis (Man of the Year) and former Air Force All-American and Dallas Cowboy Chad Hennings (Alumnus of the Year) – with major awards.   The Foundation is offering a “Holiday Ticket Promotion” for the National Awards Dinner. Buy two tickets for $450 (you save $150) before December 31. Please call (203) 288-CAMP (288-2267) for more information.

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 – 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.