February 8, 2024 – PHILADELPHIA, PA

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

National Football Foundation President Steven Hatchell Named as the Francis “Reds” Bagnell Award Winner

Maxwell Football Club Executive Director Mark Wolpert announced that National Football Foundation (NFF) President and CEO Steven Hatchell, will be honored with the Club’s Francis “Reds” Bagnell Award for Contributions to Football at the 87th Maxwell Awards which will be held on Friday March 8, 2024 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. The award’s namesake Francis Bagnell served as both the Maxwell Football Club President and the National Football Foundation President during his career.

As president & CEO of the NFF since 2005, Hatchell oversees a nationwide organization of 121 chapters in 47 states with more than 12,000 members who host more than 300 local annual events. The NFF has experienced remarkable growth, and his leadership has played a critical role in the 2014 opening of the state-of-the-art $68.5 million College Football Hall of Fame in the heart of Atlanta. He has also spearheaded the launch of several highly successful and award-winning initiatives, including the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame, the “Future For Football” public service campaign, and the Campbell Trophy® Summit to name a few.

A career sports administrator, Hatchell joined the NFF after serving for six years as the commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).  Prior to the PRCA, Hatchell served as the first commissioner of the Big 12 Conference in Dallas, an entity he helped establish in 1995 after serving as the last commissioner of the Southwest Conference from 1993-95.  While with the Big 12, Hatchell played a key role in negotiating the television contracts and bowl game formula that would make the conference one of the strongest in the nation today.  During his time at the Big 12, he also served as the first chairman of the Power of One/NCAA Football Committee, a collegiate promotional initiative to combine the marketing resources of collegiate sports into a unified force, and he was chairman of the Football Bowl Association for six years. 

From 1987-93, Hatchell headed the Orange Bowl as its executive director, landing FedEx as its title sponsor, a landmark relationship at the time.  Hatchell was director of sports information for the University of Colorado from 1972-76. He left CU to become sports information director at Colorado State in September of 1976. He was at CSU for a year, and he added responsibilities as director of external affairs during that period. He served as an associate commissioner of the Big 8 Conference from 1977-83. He left to become the commissioner at the age of 33 of the Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, a post he held from 1983-87. A graduate of the University of Colorado, Hatchell was inducted into the school’s athletics hall of fame in 2017.

“When you think about impactful leadership in college athletics, and football specifically, Steve Hatchell’s name would have to be right at the top of that list. His resume is dotted with impressive stops as a conference commissioner, bowl director and in other key leadership roles in college football culminating with his role at the National Football Foundation. The NFF is an organization that sets the bar for excellence for all of us who work in the college football space and Steve is a visionary who has assembled a team that promotes, develops and celebrates the game of football to the maximum. His contributions have helped shape the game that we all love.”

Mark Wolpert – Executive Director – Maxwell Football Club

Hatchell will be honored Friday March 8, 2024 at the 87th Maxwell Football Club National Awards which will be held at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.  Also receiving awards at this event will be Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens (Bert Bell Award), Dan Campbell – Detroit Lions (Earle “Greasy” Neale Award,  Michael Penix Jr. – Washington (Maxwell Award), Payton Wilson – NC State (Chuck Bednarik Award), Kalen DeBoer – Washington/Alabama (George Munger Coach of the Year Award), Caleb Downs – Alabama/Ohio State (Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award and John Grant Jr. – Cricket Celebration Bowl (Brookshier Spirit Award) and Claude Felton – University of Georgia (MFC Special Achievement Award). The Club will be announcing additional in the coming days.

Tickets for the Maxwell Football Club National Awards are available for purchase on the Club’s website or by calling 215-643-3833.

Questions concerning any of the Maxwell Football Club’s awards or programs can be directed to MFC Executive Director Mark Wolpert at info@maxwellfootballclub.org.

ABOUT THE MAXWELL FOOTBALL CLUB – The Maxwell Football Club was founded in 1935 and is the oldest football organization of its kind in America. The Club recognizes excellence in performance at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of the game. The Maxwell Club is also deeply involved and fully vested in the community through programs to promote academic excellence, community volunteerism, and leadership. High school student-athletes around the country have an opportunity to participate in MFC Showcase events, free of charge, through the generosity of our corporate partners, Montage Mountain Resort, the Edward T. Coombs Foundation and the Bradley Law Firm. To learn more about our story visit www.maxwellfootballclub.org.