Schmidt, Hamilton honored for contributions to high school football
Silver Lake coach C.J. Hamilton (left) and Andale coach Dylan Schmidt (right) were recognized by the Coach Bill Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter of the National Football Foundation for their contributions to the sport of football in Kansas. (File Photos)
Andale head football coach Dylan Schmidt and Silver Lake head football coach C.J. Hamilton have been selected by the Coach Bill Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter of the National Football Foundation to receive special recognition awards for the 2020-21 academic year.
Schmidt, who is 48-2 in four years at Andale and 51-8 overall, was named the Don Fambrough Coach of the Year. The legendary late Kansas head football coach, Fambrough was also a member of the Jayhawks’ 1947 Orange Bowl team. Hamilton, who just completed his 46th year at Silver Lake, was selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Coach Schmidt and coach Hamilton are most deserving of this recognition,” Chapter President Gerry McGuire said. “They are well respected by their peers and they produce winners on and off the field. We congratulate them on their success.”
Andale is 25-0 over the last two years with back-to-back Kansas Class 3A state titles. Schmidt has been named class 4A (2017), 3A (2019-20) and all-classes (2020) coach of the year with three state title game appearances.
An Andale alumnus, he was an NCAA Division I track and field athlete, first at Kansas State and then Wichita State where he earned two undergraduate degrees and a master’s degree. He was all-Big 12 in the pole vault and all-Missouri Valley in the pole vault and javelin.
Hamilton’s 46-year tenure at Silver Lake began in 1973. He spent the1977-78 seasons at Washburn University as the defensive back coach, then returned to coach the Eagles in 1979. In that time, he has won 82 percent of his games (438-95). A Silver Lake graduate, he has 39 state playoff appearances, 18 berths in the title game, and eight state championships. He is the state of Kansas’ all-time winningest head football coach.
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 This year, it was renamed the Coach Bill Snyder Family Sunflower Chapter.
It’s mission is to recognize outstanding high school seniors who excel on the gridiron, in the classroom and as leaders in their schools and communities. More than 300 high school football players from the state of Kansas have been honored by the chapter since its inception in 1991. Dillons Food Stores, which maintains a large presence in the state of Kansas, sponsors the chapter awards program and banquet.
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.
Coach Bill Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter National Football Foundation / PO Box 3015 / Lawrence, Kan. 66046 / 785-864-0703