Teams of Distinction

As part of its mission to promote the scholar-athlete ideal, the Teams of Distinction allows the National Football Foundation to honor the top high school scholar-athletes from around the country as the best and the brightest at the local level while highlighting the work of the NFF Chapter Network.

The members of the team are only seniors who all played their final high school football season. As part of the award, all of the honorees will be part of a permanent digital display at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Criteria to make the team include but are not limited to academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement. Each chapter is limited to one honoree, distinguishing them as the top scholar-athlete from all the high schools covered by the chapter.

"This initiative allows us to shine a national spotlight on some of the most deserving high school student-athletes honored at the local level by our expansive Chapter Network," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "This honor is one of the most prestigious national awards that a high school player can receive. We would like to congratulate all 65 honorees for their success on and off the field, especially with the challenges caused by the pandemic during their senior year."

Since 1954, the NFF Chapters have played an integral role in supporting and promoting the game of football at the amateur level while honoring the top scholar-athletes in their local areas. With more than 12,000 members, the nationwide NFF Chapter Network impacts more than 500,000 student-athletes at 5,000 high schools across the country each year.

The centerpiece of the Chapter Network's efforts are the annual chapter awards banquets, which recognize more than 3,500 of the nation's top scholar-athletes and distribute more than $1 million in scholarships. Despite the pandemic, the NFF chapters exhibited creativity and ingenuity to honor their local scholar-athletes through virtual events, drive-thru events and in-person banquets (when allowed by local protocols).