Timeline and Criteria for the AFCF® Power of Influence Award

  1. The Power of Influence Award is presented annually to an active high school football coach at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner. The dinner is held in early January at a designated national location.
  2. The selected coach does not have to be a member of the American Football Coaches Association. The Foundation will grant the recipient a one year's membership in the AFCA.
  3. The selected coach will receive a $1,000.00 stipend to assist with expenses for attending the AFCA convention at which the award is presented.
  4. The coach and his spouse/guest will receive tickets to the Coach of the Year Reception and Dinner. A table for ten near the podium will be reserved for the recipient's guests and the representatives of the nominating association with the opportunity to purchase more tickets, if needed.

Criteria

  1. The coach must be an active high school football coach.
  2. That positive influence should be reflected in his community service, his mentoring and role modeling, and finally, measured by the lives he has touched and changed.
  3. The nomination should be accompanied by examples and personal testimonies, when possible.

Method of Selection

The Foundation will ask state high school coaches associations to submit one nominee. Each high school association has the discretion to use any system they choose for the selection process. Once a coach has been nominated by a state association he will remain on the list for two years. The state associations may re-nominate the coach after two years or select a new nominee.

The Award and Presentation

  1. Each nominee will be placed on a nationally publicized list. The list will appear in AFCA and Scholastic Coach publications, and on the AFCA website, under the American Football Coaches Foundation.
  2. Each coach nominated will receive a certificate indicating his nomination for this award.
  3. The selected coach will furnish The Foundation, in a timely manner, videos and still photos to be used for the production of an introduction video for the Coach of the Year Dinner.

Timeline

  1. In February of each year, The Foundation will send a request to state high school coaches associations to submit nominations for the AFCF Power of Influence Award.
  2. The Foundation office must receive nominations by March 17.
  3. During The Foundation's summer board meeting, the Directors will elect the coach to be honored.
  4. In June of each year, the coach to be honored will be notified.
  5. A press release will be issued in the fall of each year, and a story featuring the award winner will be published in the Third Quarter issue of The Extra Point.

PDF Document Click Here For Nomination Form
“Coach George Smith is not only an influence on young people, but the influence is multiplied many times in the beliefs of the young people he helped mold into amazing human beings. George is an outstanding coach, but more importantly, he is an outstanding gentleman.” —Tina Jones, Principal of St. Thomas Aquinas High School