IRVING, Texas & PRINCETON, N.J. (Sept. 14, 2022) - The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) and The Ivy League announced today that the organizations are partnering for the 12th year to host a press conference and reception, presented by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses®, to bestow the Asa S. Bushnell Cup to the League's Football Players of the Year on Dec. 12 at the New York Athletic Club.
 
The press conference, previously part of the festivities surrounding the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, will take place as a standalone event for the second year on Monday, Dec. 12, at 12:30 p.m. ET on the 9^th Floor of the famed New York Athletic Club on Central Park West. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses returns for a seventh time as the presenting sponsor of the event.
 
Capping off the Ivy League football season, the presentation of the Asa S. Bushnell Cup annually recognizes one offensive and one defensive player as the best player from their respective sides of the ball. The finalists – two offensive and two defensive, plus any ties – will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The finalists along with their respective head coaches will be on hand as Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris unveils the winners' names in front of an impressive crowd of media representatives, NFF Board members and Ivy League administrators, alumni, dignitaries and friends.
 
"We are excited to once again partner with the National Football Foundation along with the Tournament of Roses for the 2022 Bushnell Cup Presentation," said Harris. "We are also grateful to the New York Athletic Club for hosting us at this first-class venue to culminate the Ivy League football season. This unique presentation offers a tremendous experience for our student-athletes and we are proud to align the league with partners that share our values of inspiring young people through education and sport."
 
The Tournament of Roses boasts numerous ties to the Ivy League as well as the NFF. All three organizations share similar missions, including the promotion of the scholar-athlete ideal and a deep commitment to the rich history and traditions of the game.
 
"The Tournament of Roses and the Ivy League represent two of the most storied institutions in college football," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "And the NFF is proud to stand side-by-side with them in supporting this unique event that provides a powerful platform for promoting some of our nation's finest student-athletes. All three of our organizations have had a hand in shaping college football during the past 153 years."
 
The connection between the Ivy League and the Rose Bowl Game stretches back more than 100 years with Ivy League teams appearing in three of the first six Rose Bowl Games. All totaled, four of the eight Ivy League teams have made an appearance in the Rose Bowl Game. Other Ivy League/Rose Bowl Game connections include the Yale Bowl serving as a model for the Rose Bowl Stadium architects, led by the renowned Myron Hunt, as they designed the iconic stadium during the early 1920s in Pasadena.
 
Next season marks the 90th anniversary of Columbia's appearance in the "Granddaddy of Them All" where the Lions pulled off possibly the greatest upset in the game's history with a 7-0 victory against Stanford. The win marked career defining moments for Hall of Fame Coach Lou Little, and Hall of Fame quarterback Cliff Montgomery who claimed game MVP honors.
 
The other Ivy League appearances included Harvard and Hall of Fame halfback Eddie Casey's 7-6 victory over Oregon in the 1920 Rose Bowl Game, marking the first Ivy victory in the classic. Brown, led by Hall of Fame Coach Edward "Robbie" Robinson and Hall of Famer Fritz Pollard, played Washington State in the 1916 Rose Bowl Game as the first Ivy League team to ever appear in the classic. Penn represented the Ivy League the following year in the 1917 game, taking on Oregon.
 
"We are extremely pleased to continue our support of the presentation of the Asa Bushnell Cup," said Amy Wainscott, president of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses®. "The finalists chosen for this unique honor truly represent what it means to be a scholar-athlete. They have succeeded at the highest levels at some of our nation's most prestigious academic institutions, and we take great pride in recognizing them as examples for future generations."
 
Presented annually since 1970, the Asa S. Bushnell Cup honors its namesake, a 1921 Princeton alumnus and the commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference from 1938 to 1970. The Bushnell Cup is awarded by a vote of the Ivy League's eight head football coaches to the players who display outstanding qualities of leadership, competitive spirit, contribution to the team and accomplishments on the field.
 
From 1970 to 2010, the Bushnell Cup recognized an Ivy League Player of the Year (or co-Players of the Year if there was a tie in voting). In 2011, the Ivy League began recognizing both an offensive and a defensive player of the year. Beginning with the 2010 season, the Ivy League and the NFF have partnered at the end of the season to present the award.
 
Asa S. Bushnell Cup All-Time Recipient List
 
1970 -  Jim Chasey, QB, Dartmouth & Ed Marinaro, RB, Cornell
1971 -  Ed Marinaro, RB, Cornell
1972 -  Dick Jauron, RB, Yale
1973 -  Jim Stoeckel, QB, Harvard
1974 -  Walt Snickenberger, RB, Princeton
1975 -  Doug Jackson, RB, Columbia
1976 -  John Pagliaro, RB, Yale
1977 -  John Pagliaro, RB, Yale
1978 -  Buddy Teevens, QB, Dartmouth
1979 -  Tim Tumpane, LB, Yale
1980 -  Kevin Czinger, MG, Yale
1981 -  Rich Diana, RB, Yale
1982 -  John Witkowski, QB, Columbia
1983 -  Derrick Harmon, RB, Cornell
1984 -  Tim Chambers, DB, Penn
1985 -  Tom Gilmore, DT, Penn
1986 -  Rich Comizio, RB, Penn
1987 -  Kelly Ryan, QB, Yale
1988 -  Jason Garrett, QB, Princeton
1989 -  Judd Garrett, RB, Princeton
1990 -  Shon Page, RB, Dartmouth
1991 -  Al Rosier, RB, Dartmouth
1992 -  Jay Fiedler, QB, Dartmouth
1993 -  Keith Elias, RB, Princeton
1994 -  Pat Goodwillie, LB, Penn
1995 -  Dave Patterson, LB, Princeton
1996 -  Chad Levitt, RB, Cornell
1997 -  Sean Morey, WR, Brown
1998 -  Jim Finn, RB, Penn
1999 -  James Perry, QB, Brown
2000 -  Gavin Hoffman, QB, Penn
2001 -  Carl Morris, WR, Harvard
2002 -  Carl Morris, WR, Harvard
2003 -  Mike Mitchell, QB, Penn
2004 -  Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Harvard
2005 -  Nick Hartigan, RB, Brown
2006 -  Jeff Terrell, QB, Princeton
2007 -  Mike McLeod, RB, Yale
2008 -  Chris Pizzotti, QB, Harvard
2009 -  Buddy Farnham, WR, Brown & Jake Lewko, LB, Penn
2010 - Gino Gordon, RB, Harvard & Nick Schwieger, RB, Dartmouth
2011 -  Offensive Player of the Year: Jeff Mathews, QB, Cornell
Defensive Player of the Year: Josue Ortiz, DT, Harvard
2012 - Offensive Player of the Year: Colton Chapple, QB, Harvard
            Defensive Player of the Year: Mike Catapano, DL, Princeton
2013 - Offensive Player of the Year: Quinn Epperly, QB, Princeton
            Defensive Player of the Year: Zack Hodges, DE, Harvard
2014 - Offensive Player of the Year: Tyler Varga, TB, Yale
           Co-Defensive Players of the Year:
Zack Hodges, DE, Harvard & Mike Zeuli, LB, Princeton
2015 - Offensive Player of the Year: Scott Hosch, QB, Harvard
            Defensive Player of the Year: Tyler Drake, LB, Penn
2016 - Offensive Player of the Year: John Lovett, RB, Princeton
            Defensive Player of the Year: Folarin Orimolade, LB, Dartmouth
2017 - Offensive Player of the Year: Chad Kanoff, QB, Princeton
            Defensive Player of the Year: Matthew Oplinger, LB, Yale
2018 - Offensive Player of the Year: John Lovett, QB, Princeton
            Defensive Player of the Year: Isiah Swann, DB, Dartmouth
2019 - Offensive Player of the Year: Kurt Rawlings, QB, Yale
            Defensive Player of the Year: Jack Traynor, LB, Dartmouth
2020 – No Honorees (Season canceled because of the pandemic.)
2021 - Offensive Player of the Year: EJ Perry, QB, Brown
           Defensive Player of the Year: Jeremiah Tyler, LB, Princeton
 
Several NFF honorees have ties to the Bushnell Cup, including Dick Jauron (Yale, 1972), who is the only person to hold these three titles: Bushnell Cup recipient, NFF National Scholar-Athlete and College Football Hall of Famer.
 
Eight NFF National Scholar-Athletes have claimed the trophy: Jauron (Yale, 1972), Kevin Czinger (Yale, 1980), Richard Diana (Yale, 1981), Tom Gilmore (Penn, 1985), Keith Elias (Princeton, 1993), Nick Hartigan (Brown, 2005), Jeff Mathews (Cornell, 2011) and Tyler Varga (Yale, 2014.) Jauron and Ed Marinaro (Cornell) are the only two members of the College Football Hall of Fame to have claimed the Bushnell Cup.
 
ABOUT THE IVY LEAGUE
The Ivy League stands at the pinnacle of higher education and Division I athletics, rooted in the longstanding, defining principle that intercollegiate athletics competition should be "kept in harmony with the essential educational purposes of the institution." The League's world-renowned schools - Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale - serve as the standard bearers for inspiring and transforming student-athletes to boldly take on the world's challenges and lead lives of great impact. For more information, please visit IvyLeague.com.
 
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 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. With 120 chapters in 47 states, NFF programs include the selection and induction of members of the College Football Hall of Fame; the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta; Future For Football; The William V. Campbell Trophy®; the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Award; and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Jostens, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the New York Athletic Club, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.