News

Media Release: July 15, 2015

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc., the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award, has released the 2015 Biletnikoff Award Pre-Season Watch List. The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the outstanding receiver in college football. Any player, regardless of position (wide receiver, tight end, slot back, split end, and running back) who catches a pass is eligible for the award. As such, the Biletnikoff Award recognizes the outstanding receiver, not merely outstanding wide receiver. The award recipient is selected by the highly distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group 311 prominent college football journalists, commentators, and former receivers. Foundation trustees do not vote and have never voted. Additional receivers are periodically added to the watch list as their season performances dictate.

According to TQC Foundation Chairman Richard Chichetti, “Given the significant number of excellent college receivers returning this season, coupled with talented receivers who have heretofore played very little or are returning from injury, the contest for the 2015 Biletnikoff Award will be exciting and the award within the grasp of many outstanding receivers.”

The 2015 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented live on December 10, 2015, on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show to be broadcast 7:00 – 9:00pm (EST) on ESPN. College Football Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard will present the 2015 Biletnikoff Award winner on the show.

The correlation between Biletnikoff Award winners and stardom in the National Football League is uncannily predictable. Past Biletnikoff Award winners include Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, and Larry Fitzgerald.

Founding Trustee and Co-Chairman of the Selection Committee Walter Manley II relates that the 2015 Biletnikoff Award winner will receive his trophy before 600 patrons at the Biletnikoff Award Banquet at the University Center Club at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday, January 30, 2016. The banquet was hailed by 2014 keynote speaker Dick Vermeil, as well as by 2013 keynoter Larry Csonka, as “the best banquet in college sports.”

The banquet has featured distinguished keynoters of profound character and accomplishments including Bart Starr, Dick Vermeil, Larry Csonka, Steve Largent, Mike Ditka, Don Shula, Dan Reeves, Archie Manning, Ron Jaworski, Gene Stallings, Bill Curry, Jim Kelly, Jerry Kramer, Joe Theismann, and Dan Fouts.

The banquet also recognizes the Foundation’s scholarship recipients who will be provided by the Foundation well over $800,000 in college and vocational scholarships and benefits in 2016 alone, as in 2014 and 2015. The Foundation’s charitable mission is the provision of college and vocational scholarships to North Florida high school seniors who have overcome significant barriers to achieve at the highest academic and extra-curricular levels.

The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., will announce the ten Biletnikoff Award semifinalists on November 17, 2015, following the vote by the 311 members of the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee. Likewise, the three finalists will be declared, following another vote, on November 24, 2015. For complete details and updates of interest, together with weekly statistics and timely, important news of the Biletnikoff Award candidates, as well as a fan vote and discussion board, please consult the Foundation’s highly informative website at www.biletnikoffaward.com

The name Biletnikoff is synonymous with the term receiver. Fred Biletnikoff, a member of the pro and college football halls of fame, was an All-America receiver at Florida State University, and an All-Pro receiver for the Oakland Raiders. He caught 589 passes for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns in his 14-year Raiders career from 1965 through 1978. Fred was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XI. The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation (TQC), Inc., created the Biletnikoff Award in 1994.

Foundation Selection Committee Co-Chairman Ritchie Pickron notes, “The 2015 Biletnikoff Award Pre-Season Watch List contains an extremely talented field, consistent with the importance of the passing game in college football.” Selection Committee Co-Chairman Bill Hilaman seconded Pickron’s opinion: “Receiver has become the glamour position in college offenses; the great athletes are drawn to the receiver position, thereby significantly increasing the number of excellent college receivers at numerous positions.”

The banquet, widely considered the best in college sports, will be live streamed on ESPN3. ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, giving fans a destination that delivers thousands of live sports events annually, accessible online at watchespn.com [http://WatchESPN.com], on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members. The broadcast is available at no additional cost to viewers who receive their high-speed internet connection or video connection from an affiliated service provider. ESPN3 is currently available in 83 million homes. It is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.

The 2015 Biletnikoff Award Pre-Season Watch List

(Other receivers will be added as their season performances dictate)

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National College Football Awards Association

The Biletnikoff Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 22 awards boast 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org [http://www.NCFAA.org] to learn more about our story.

Beginning in 2015, The Home Depot College Football Awards will have a new home at the College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta. Airing live on ESPN on December 10, 2015, college football’s brightest stars will be honored for their performance on and off the field.

The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over an 11-day period this month. Sixteen of the association’s 22 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the complete 2015 preseason watch list calendar:

Tues., July 7:

Bednarik   Award / Maxwell Award

Wed., July 8:

Mackey Award / Rimington   Trophy

Thurs., July 9:

Lou Groza Award / Ray Guy   Award

Fri., July 10:

Bronko Nagurski Trophy /   Outland Trophy

Mon., July 13:

Jim Thorpe Award

Tues., July 14:

Butkus Award / Rotary   Lombardi Award

Wed., July 15:

Biletnikoff Award / Wuerffel   Trophy

Thurs, July 16:

Davey O’Brien Award / Doak   Walker Award

Fri., July 17:

Walter Camp Award / William   V. Campbell Trophy

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The Biletnikoff Award

The Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the season’s outstanding college football receiver regardless of position (the award defines receiver as any player who catches a pass hence, wide receivers, tight ends, slot backs, split ends, and running backs are eligible) by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., (TQC). The TQC Foundation, Inc., is an independent, charitable organization that was founded in 1994. Past Chairman and Founding Trustee Professor Walter W. Manley II, Founding Trustee L. Thomas Cox, Jr., Founding Trustee Rocky Bevis, and Founding Trustee Bob Teel established the award and the TQC Foundation, Inc., that sponsors it. Many more trustees have contributed to its development as one of the most prominent awards in college football. The TQC Foundation, Inc., joined the idea of a college receiver’s award to the organization’s vision and created the outstanding award and dynamic organization. The trophy, presented to each winner, is the most beautiful in college football – it has won several national awards for design excellence and aesthetic appeal. Likewise, the website and printed banquet program have been frequently cited nationally for excellence in design.

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The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, is the creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award. The Foundation administers the Biletnikoff Award, its charitable activities, and the distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee. Foundation Trustees are prohibited from serving on the National Selection Committee. For a full recounting of the Foundation’s activities, please consult www.BiletnikoffAward.com