Bill Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter of NFF and Kansas Shrine Bowl announce specialty awards

The Bill Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter of the National Football Foundation has announced its special recognition awards for the 2024-25 academic year.

The winners will be honored at the annual chapter awards dinner to be conducted May 7 at the Shamrock Plaza at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan, Kan. Check-in and a reception begin at 5 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m. (NOTE: 12 student-athletes who are high school seniors in 2024-25 will be announced later as Sunflower Chapter scholarship award winners).

Andover Central head coach Derek Tuttle and Southeast of Saline head coach Mitch Gebhardt were named the Don Fambrough Coaches of the Year. The legendary late Kansas head football coach, Fambrough was also a member of the Jayhawks’ 1947 Orange Bowl team. He led the Jayhawks to the 1973 Liberty and 1981 Hall of Fame bowls.

A native of Grinnell, Kan., Tuttle played two years at Bethany College before completing his education at Kansas State. He has been a fixture at Andover schools since 1998 and became head coach at Andover Central in 2019, registering a 57-15 record in six years. That includes Class 4A runner-up finishes in 2019, 21, 23 and the title this past season, defeating Bishop Miege 49-42. Gebhardt, who graduated from Ellsworth High School and Fort Hays State University, is 143-74 in 22 years combined at Lincoln and Southeast of Saline. Southeast of Saline is 54-4 in his last five seasons. The Trojans claimed the Class 2A title this past season with a 36-28 win over Nemaha Central.

The Kansas Coaching Legends Lifetime Achievement award will be given to Tom Young. Trailing only Silver Lake's C.J. Hamilton and Pittsburg Colgan's Chuck Smith as the winningest HS football coach in Kansas history with a 343-11 record in 44 years (Hanover: 1971-79; Wellington: 1980-82; Derby: 1983-2003; Leavenworth: 2004-05; McPherson: 2006-14). He has state championships in 1979, 1982, 1994. He is originally from Adams, Neb.

The John and Phil Laurie Officiating Award goes to David Haynes, a resident of Wichita, Kan. He has been self-employed in the construction industry for the past 20 years and began working high school football in 2014. Since then, he has worked 19 playoff games in that span. He officiated high school basketball from 1992-2000 working several substate rounds. He also officiated college basketball from 1995-2023, working numerous KCAC and Jayhawk conference championships. Haynes worked several NAIA regional championships and three NJCAA Division I National Tournaments, twice officiating the national championship.

The Dick Foster Legacy Award, created last year and awarded posthumously to the Jayhawk Conference coaching legend will be presented to Troy Morrell. Born in Benkelman, Neb., and a graduate of Buhler, Kan. High School, he played at Butler Community College and later Fort Hays State University. He returned to Butler as the OL coach and OC from 1996-1999. From 2000-14 he was the Butler head coach, amassing a 154-22 mark including a 30-3 mark in the NJCAA Region VI playoffs. He won NJCAA national titles in 2003, 07, 08.

Additional honorees announced earlier include the 2025 Kansas Shrine Bowl Hall of Fame class including Dane Simoneau who played at Salina Sacred Heart High School and Washburn, and currently serves as the Ichabods offensive coordinator; Collin Sexton, who played at Abilene High School and Kansas State University and currently serves as Deputy Athletics Director of the University of Kansas; the aforementioned C.J. Hamilton, and Kent Sedlacek, who played at Hanover for Tom Young and is Senior Executive Gift Planner at the KSU Foundation.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

The chapter could not conduct this event and present the awards without the support of sponsors such as Dillons, Geiger Ready-Mix, Great Western Manufacturing, Bennington State Bank, Canvas Wealth Partners, Sunflower Bank, Edward D. Jones (Hutchinson), Polsinelli, Rack Coach, Athlete Builder, Chicken 'N Pickle, Depasquale Moore, KCFC, Mammoth Sports Construction, Kansas Shrine Bowl, Kansas Pregame, Sports in Kansas.

About the Coach Bill Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter NFF

The Kansas Chapter received its National Football Foundation Charter Nov. 25, 1991, at halftime ceremonies of the Kansas-Missouri football game. It then evolved into the Jayhawk Chapter and later transitioned to the Sunflower Chapter. It was renamed the Bill Snyder Family Sunflower Chapter. Its mission is to recognize outstanding high school seniors who excel on the gridiron, in the classroom and as leaders in their schools and communities. 

About the National Football Foundation

Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, the National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. 

About the NFF Chapter Network

The NFF Chapter Network, spread across 120 outposts in 47 states, serves as the pulse of a nationwide effort to encourage leadership, sportsmanship and academic excellence among America’s young football players. The first meeting to discuss the formation of chapters was held by the Cincinnati Club in 1954, and today more than 12,000 passionate members carry on the legacy of the early pioneers, which is simply to Build Leaders Through Football. Collectively, they host more than 300 events each year, reaching more than 500,000 football players at 5,000 high schools.

About the Kansas Shrine Bowl

The Shrine Bowl of Kansas, Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that produces annual events and related activities with net proceeds benefiting Shriners Children's. The Shrine Bowl of Kansas, Inc has existed since 1974 and has sent nearly 4.0M to Shriners Hospitals for Children. The flagship event has been the Kansas Shrine Bowl, an East vs. West all-star senior football game that began in 1974. Kansas Shrine All-Star Events also include the Kansas Masonic All-State Marching Band Camp, the Kansas Shrine Bowl All-Star Cheer Camp, the KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals and many other game week events. All Kansas Shrine All-Star Events are produced and presented to benefit Shriners Children's.