Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., the creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award presented annually to college football’s outstanding receiver regardless of position, selected thirteen remarkably talented North Florida high school seniors of high character as Foundation Scholars at its black-tie, ESPN3 broadcast banquet on February 7. Today, the Foundation is honoring those 13 scholars at a luncheon at the University Center Club with their families and school representatives in attendance.
The Foundation will provide substantial scholarships and other benefits in an amount approaching $800,000 to these outstanding young men and women, who have overcome significant emotional, mental, physical, and environmental barriers to achieve at the highest academic and extracurricular levels. Last year, the Foundation provided over $850,000 in benefits to the 2014 scholars. Over the course of 21 years, the Foundation has awarded nearly 200 scholarships totaling many millions of dollars.
These thirteen 2015 seniors were recognized at the 21st annual Biletnikoff Award Banquet on Saturday, February 7, 2015, at the University Center Club at Tallahassee’s Doak Campbell Stadium before a sold-out audience of 550 patrons. ESPN3 live broadcasted the banquet which also honored 2014 Biletnikoff Award winner Amari Cooper of the University of Alabama. Former college and NFL quarterback Joe Theismann, one of America’s outstanding speakers, delivered the keynote address. The banquet, hailed by many as “the best in college sports,” also witnessed the presentation of the Biletnikoff Award trophy, the most beautiful in college sports, to Amari Cooper.
Foundation Chairman Richard Chichetti commented:”These thirteen students will become important leaders in the Florida and America of the 21st century!”
Luncheon Chairman Bob Teel observed:”Foundation designations for scholarship awards are the most coveted in Florida, as the competition is fierce due to the large number of very high quality applicants and the fact that the requirements to be so designated are extraordinarily rigorous.”
“In fact, the overall quality of applicants has never been higher and the distinction of those ranked among the top 20 in the applicant pool is the most outstanding in our 21 years’ history. The quality of the scholars and our trustees’ drive to serve others is a powerful incentive for our highly successful fundraising, which established another record in 2015,” noted Chichetti.