October 15, 2014
To: Sports Information Directors of NCAA Division II football-playing institutions
From: Ethan Hulsey, National Chair
Re: Gene Upshaw Award nomination process
Upshaw Award Nomination Process & Information PDF
As the national chair of the award, I encourage each of you to nominate a worthy candidate (offensive or defensive lineman) for the Gene Upshaw Award from your institution. Sports information directors of Division II football playing schools and Division II conferences have the honor and responsibility of selecting the winner each year. The award winner will not only earn the right to be called the top NCAA Division II lineman, but he will also earn other prestigious honors.
All nominations must be submitted online by 6 p.m. EST on Monday, November 10, 2014.
The winner of the award received a guaranteed opportunity to play in the East/West Shrine Game, which is one of the top college football all-star games and is held on Jan. 17, 2015 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. It is hoped that the award winner will receive opportunities to play in additional postseason all-star games. These opportunities to play in all-star games in front of National Football League (NFL) coaches and scouts are the fruits of labors by members of the Manheim Touchdown Club, the presenting sponsor of the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award.
The NFL recognizes, endorses and supports the winner of the award by guaranteeing a place in the all-star games. The support comes as recognition and appreciate for the late Mr. Upshaw, who was not only an All-Pro lineman for the Oakland Raiders, but later served as the executive director of the NFL Players Association for 25 years. Mr. Upshaw, a former standout offensive lineman at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M Kingsville) was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 in his first year of eligibility.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ONLINE NOMINATIONS
1. Go to http://www.manheimtouchdownclub.com/login
2. Use the username sid and password geneupshaw to login.
3. Select the appropriate Super Region and complete the form.
RULES FOR NOMINATION
Offensive and defensive linemen from any of the football-playing members of the NCAA Division II will be eligible.
The following criteria have been established for candidates:
a) Nominations may only be made by Sports Information Directors at NCAA Division II football-playing institutions;
b) A sports information director may only nominate a candidate from his/her college or university;
c) Only one nominee per institution (regardless of position);
d) A nominee must be a junior or senior in athletic eligibility and have competed in at least 70 percent of his team’s regular-season games;
e) A nominee must play at one of the following positions – Offensive linemen: tackles, guards, centers (tight ends are not eligible); Defensive linemen: ends, tackles nose guards/tackles;
f) A nominee must be of good academic standing (eligible to compete). Ineligible players will be disqualified;
g) A nominee must be an All-America or all-region caliber candidate (first or second team);
h) All nominations must be submitted online by 6 p.m. EST on Monday, November 10, 2014;
i) No player may be nominated for the award from a school not eligible to compete for the NCAA Division II Football Championship. Players from a school that holds dual membership in NCAA Division II and the NAIA or are still in transition from NCAA Division III, the NAIA, etc. into NCAA Division II are not eligible.
DATES TO REMEMBER
• Monday, October 20 - Super Region nominations open online.
• Monday, November 10, 6 p.m. ET - Super Region nominations due.
• Monday, November 17 - Super Region ballots distributed by super region chairs.
• Monday, November 24, 6 p.m. ET - Deadline for super region ballots to be submitted. The top two from the four super regions (eight total student-athletes) advance to the national ballot.
• Monday, December 1 - Final eight ballot distributed to all Division II SIDs by the national coordinator via super region chairs.
• Monday, December 8, 6 p.m. ET - National ballots due for compilation of the final vote totals.
• Monday, December 15 - Announcement of the winner of award.
• May 2015 - Presentation of the Gene Upshaw Award Division II Lineman of the Year Award at the Manheim Touchdown Club (Banquet in Lancaster, Pa.)
If you have questions about the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award, please contact the National Chair or your Super Region chair.
SUPER REGION CHAIRS
Super Region 1: Doug Spatafore (Lock Haven) E-Mail: dspatafo@lhup.edu
Super Region 2: Dom Donnelly (Tusculum) E-Mail: ddonnell@tusculum.edu
Super Region 3: Tim Evans (Augustana) E-Mail: tevans@augie.edu
Super Region 4: Colin Bonnicksen (Colorado School of Mines) E-Mail: cbonnick@mines.edu
NATIONAL CHAIR
Ethan Hulsey (Millersville) E-Mail: ehulsey@millersville.edu