As part of the nationwide kickoff to the Super Bowl 50 celebration, the NFL launched today the Super Bowl High School Honor Roll initiative recognizing schools and communities that contributed to Super Bowl history and positively impacted the game of football.
High schools across the nation, and around the world, will receive a commemorative Wilson Golden Football for every player or head coach who graduated from their school and was on an active Super Bowl roster. Nearly 3,000 players and head coaches, and more than 2,000 high schools, will be recognized. Players and coaches will also have the opportunity to personally deliver golden footballs.
The NFL Foundation will provide the schools with a new character education curriculum and the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $5,000 to help support and grow their football programs. The NFL Foundation has invested $1 million towards the campaign.
Seventeen Super Bowl High School Honor Roll visits will be featured on CBS This Morning every Thursday throughout the season with the first premiering Thursday, Sept. 10. The first segment showcases the making of the Golden Footballs in Wilson's factory in Ada, Ohio and the delivery of the first football by Pro Football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann to the Hall of Fame's Super Bowl High School Honor Roll exhibit. Nearly 2,000 students from Canton, Ohio participated in the delivery.
CBS, which will televise Super Bowl 50, also will feature visits during coverage of Thursday Night Football, and on the Network's Sunday pregame show, THE NFL TODAY. Additionally other various assets across the CBS Corporation will feature Super Bowl High School Honor Roll visits.
A sampling of current and former players and coaches CBS segments will feature include: Marcus Allen, Bill Cowher, Terrell Davis, Boomer Esiason, Larry Fitzgerald, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, and Robert Mathis, among others.
The platform launched during the "2015 NFL Kickoff Presented by Hyundai" celebrations with the first 50 Wilson Golden Footballs delivered in the San Francisco Bay Area, home of Super Bowl 50. In both the Bay Area and Boston, a former player will return to their school for special in-person deliveries.
Former Oakland Raiders quarterback, two-time Super Bowl Champion and Super Bowl XV MVP Jim Plunkett will return to James Lick High School in San Jose, Calif. Two-time Super Bowl Champion and former New York Giants tight end Mark Bavaro will visit Danvers High School in Danvers, Mass.
For players and coaches unable to visit their high schools, FedEx, a supporter of the program, will deliver the Wilson Golden Footballs in specialty packaging with a stand and letter. Wilson Golden Footballs feature the school's name and location, honoree's name and the internal-link-placeholder-0 the honoree appeared in. Players and coaches honored are from both teams that competed in the Super Bowl.
The program will become a Super Bowl tradition starting this season. The initiative is part of the NFL's On The Fifty campaign commemorating Super Bowl 50, which will be played on Sunday, February 7, 2016 at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area. Wilson has provided the Official Football of the NFL since 1941 and has been on the field for every Super Bowl.
For more information about the Super Bowl High School Honor Roll and all the ways the NFL is celebrating Super Bowl 50, visit SuperBowl.com, follow @SuperBowl on Twitter or hashtags #SB50 and #SBHonorRoll.
