By Marcus Dukes

IRVING, Texas (Feb. 2, 2022) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame has announced that eight high school football teams from Michigan have been chosen as the top academic winners in the nation and are now finalists for the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Award.

The 62 teams from across the country are finalists for the awards, which will be announced Feb. 9. The NFF is recognizing the top individual high school football team in the nation for excellence in the classroom.

The Michigan teams on the list are:

D8 – Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Marine City, Michigan
D6 – Shrine Catholic High School in Royal Oak, Michigan
D5 – Lutheran North High School in Macomb, Michigan
D4 – Goodrich High School in Goodrich, Michigan
D3 – DeWitt High School in DeWitt, Michigan
D2 – De La Salle Collegiate High School in Warren, Michigan
D1 – Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan
8 Man/D2 – Pellston High School in Pellston, Michigan

The NFF announced the creation of the award in February 2021, with the Nebraska and Texas state high school coaches associations leading the initial effort. The initiative is designed to inspire and foster a culture of academic excellence on high school football teams throughout the nation.

“Academic and athletic success go hand-in-hand,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. “We are proud to announce these 62 outstanding high school football teams as the top academic performers in their states.

“These schools, coaches, players and their families should all be incredibly proud of their accomplishments, and we look forward to announcing the overall winner of the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Award on February 9. We hope by inspiring teams to compete in the classroom with the same competitive spirit that it takes to win on the field, we will better prepare high school football players for success later in life.”

The 62 finalists from each division of play were selected by the individual states’ high school coaches associations from a pool of semifinalists submitted by each school’s head coach. A selection committee, created by the NFF, will be responsible for choosing one school as the recipient of the National High School Academic Excellence Award.

Eligibility requirements for the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Award include:

A minimum cumulative team GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Superior academic application and performance.
Successful football season.

“Michigan is excited to partner with the National Football Foundation in an effort to recognize team academic excellence,” said Scott Farley, Executive Director of the Michigan High School Coaches Football Association. “This unique, national award recognizes High School Football teams that have excelled in academics during this football season. Not only does the game of football teach life lessons, but the teams receiving this award are proving they can compete in the classroom as well as on the gridiron.”

For more information on the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Award or to learn how your state high school coaches association can participate next season, please contact the NFF at news@footballfoundation.com.