Published: August 19, 2011
Woody Durham to Claim 2011 NFF Chris Schenkel Award
Durham will be honored Dec. 6 in New York City as the 16th recipient of the Chris Schenkel Award for excellence in broadcasting
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The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today that Woody Durham, the longtime voice of North Carolina football, has been named the 2011 recipient of the organization's Chris Schenkel Award. First presented in 1996, the Chris Schenkel Award seeks to recognize a sports broadcaster who has enjoyed a long and distinguished career broadcasting college football with direct to ties to a specific university.
"Woody has been synonymous with Tar Heel football for four decades," said NFF President and CEO Steve Hatchell. "An exceptionally talented broadcaster, his long list of honors reflects his unique ability to make fans feel as they are standing on the sidelines. We are proud to place him among the imposing list of storytellers who have previously claimed the Schenkel Award."
With the name Woody "Lombardi" Durham, he was destined to spend his life connected to the gridiron, and Durham has been the voice of Tar Heels football since 1971. He retired in April, 2011.
His long list of accomplishments includes claiming the North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year Award a dozen times, most recently in 2005. He received the "Carolina Princess Gem" Award for his 1,000th play-by-play broadcast of a North Carolina event from the university in 1994. In 2000, Durham was given the William R. Davie Award, the highest honor given by UNC trustees.
He claimed the Marvin "Skeeter" Francis Award in 2002 for service to the Atlantic Coast Conference, and he earned induction into the North Carolina Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2004 and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame one year later. In 2006, Durham was honored along with his son Wes, who is the voice of Georgia Tech athletics, by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
Durham's broadcasting career began as a high school student in Albemarle, N.C., in 1957 at WZKY Radio. He assumed the role of sports director at WUNC-TV as a student at North Carolina from 1961 to 1963. Upon graduation, Durham worked one year at WBTW-TV in Florence, S.C., and his broadcasting career began in earnest as sports director at WFMY-TV in Greensboro, N.C., where he remained until 1977. He also served as the director of sports and sports development for WPTF-TV in Raleigh, N.C., from 1977 to 1981.
In addition to his play-by-play duties, Durham hosted shows with the Tar Heel head football and basketball coaches for many years. A native of Mebane, N.C., Durham resides in Chapel Hill, N.C., with his wife Jean. The couple has two sons and two grandchildren.
Durham is the latest of the NFF's 2011 Major Awards winners to be announced this year, joining Dr. Archie Roberts who will claim the Distinguished American Award; Penn State Athletics Director Tim Curley who will claim the John L. Toner Award; legendary broadcasters Verne Lundquist and Brent Musburger, who are co-recipients of the NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award, and Ted Ruta, who will claim the Outstanding Football Official Award. The Gold Medal recipient will be announced via a national press release in the coming weeks.
The NFF Major Award winners, along with the 2011 College Football Hall of Fame inductees and the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments, will be honored at the 54th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. For ticket information, please contact NFF director of national events Will Rudd at 800.486.1865 or wrudd@footballfoundation.com.
Past recipients of the Chris Schenkel Award include:
1996 - Chris Schenkel (ABC Sports)
1997 - Jack Cristil (Mississippi State University)
1998 - Max Falkenstein (University of Kansas)
1999 - Jack Fleming (West Virginia University)
2000 - Ray Christensen (University of Minnesota)
2001 - Frank Fallon (Baylor University)
2002 - Bob Brooks (University of Iowa)
2003 - Larry Munson (University of Georgia)
2004 - Bob Robertson (Washington State University)
2005 - Tony Roberts (University of Notre Dame)
2006 - Johnny Holiday (University of Maryland)
2007 - Bill Hillgrove (University of Pittsburgh)
2008 - Bob Curtis (University of Idaho) & Dick Galiette (Yale University)
2009 - Larry Zimmer (University of Colorado)
2010 - Joe Starkey (University of California)
Woody Durham, the longtime voice of North Carolina football, has been named the 2011 recipient of the National Football Foundation's Chris Schenkel Award for excellence in broadcasting.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME
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 & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 121 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments, Play It Smart, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association, the NFF Gridiron Clubs of New York City, Dallas, and Los Angeles, and annual scholarships of more than $1.3 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF presents the MacArthur Bowl, the Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. Learn more at
www.footballfoundation.org.
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