Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan (Exton, PA) and safety Jamie Silva (East Providence, RI), recipients of the 69th annual George “Bulger” Lowe Award for offense and defense respectively, head an all-star roster of players, coaches and officials to be honored by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston at its annual Bob Whelan College Football Awards Night on Thursday, January 10, 2008 at the Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA.
The Bulger Lowe Award, “New England’s Heisman Trophy,” recognizes the six-state region’s best players in the NCAA Bowl and Championship Divisions, formerly known as Division IA and IAA. The 12th annual Joe Zabilski Award, which recognizes the top collegiate players in Divisions II and III, will go to quarterback Patrick Lucey (Plymouth, MA) of Williams College and safety Paul Tetzel (Millbury, Mass.) of Bentley College.
The winners of the 62nd annual Nils V. “Swede” Nelson Award for exceptional achievement in academics, athletics, and sportsmanship, are kicker Steve Morgan (Westerville, OH) of Brown and center Ryne Nutt (Warren, OH) of Central Connecticut in the Bowl/Championship divisions, and offensive lineman Dan Guariglia (Glen Rock, NJ) of Amherst College in Division II/III. Morgan and Nutt are the first co-winners in the history of the award.
The club’s head coaches of the year for 2007 are Randy Edsall of Connecticut in the Bowl/Championship Divisions and Skip Bandini of Curry College in Divisions II – III. Assistant coach of the year accolades go to Bill McGovern, linebacker coach at Boston College and Mike McLaughlin, defensive coordinator at Plymouth State.
The Gridiron Club’s Joseph V. McKenney Award for top collegiate football official will go to Big East back judge Bryan Platt of Watertown, Mass. The John Baronian Award for Lifetime Contribution to Football will be given to former University of Maine head coach Harold Westerman.
Awards Dinner information: Dinner tickets are $50 each or $500 for a table of ten. They may be ordered through members of the Gridiron Club, by calling club secretary Dick Lawrence at (781) 231-0372, or by emailing info@gridclubofgreaterboston.com. Social hour begins at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:00.
About the Gridiron Club, “Keepers of the Flame”: Founded in 1932, the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston (www.gridclubofgreaterboston.com) promotes the game of football at all levels and nurtures the ideals of citizenship, sportsmanship, leadership, and athletic and academic achievement. Through its annual dinners and golf tournament, the club carries on its tradition of honoring exemplary players, coaches and officials at all levels of the sport, and supporting worthy charitable causes, especially those that assist children.
The Gridiron Club is steward of some of the most storied awards in American sport, including the George H. “Bulger” Lowe Award and the Nils V. “Swede” Nelson Award in college football and the Walter Brown Award, the nation’s oldest college hockey honor.