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"He Played Football" Award
This annual award is intended to provide recognition to a former football player in the geographic region of Northwest Indiana who went on to become highly successful in life-after-football. Emphasis is placed on individuals who were not necessarily stars of their teams but who built their later successes on their skills instead of their “football names.”
Selection process: Nominations are accepted throughout the year from NFF chapter members and considered by the Awards Committee, which recommends no more than one recipient per year. This recommendation must be ratified by the Board of Directors and the presentation should be made at the annual Honors Dinner.
2014 Honoree: Froncie Gutman, former Purdue player and director of Cleveland Eye Clinic
2015 Honoree: Carl Buergler, former Purdue walk-on, now COO of Jimmy John's
2016 Honoree: Doug Devos, former Purdue walk-on, now President of Amway Corp.
2017 Honoree: Mike Berghoff, former Purdue player, now chairman of Purdue Board of Trustees and founder and president of Lenex Steel Corporation
Mike Berghoff (left) was awarded with the 2017 award due to his professional success and efforts as a member of Purdue's Board of Trustees.
Doug DeVos (left) poses for a photo alongside Purdue football coach Darrell Hazell (center) and Tiller Chapter President Kelly Kitchel (right). Devos won the "He Played Football" award for his success with Amway and his community work in Michigan.
Former Purdue quarterback and Jimmy Johns Chief Operating Officer Carl Buergler was honored with the “He Played Football” award in 2015 for his accomplishments with the sandwich chain .
