June 18, 2010
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Charlotte Touchdown Club Wednesday announced that former University of Notre Dame All-America defensive lineman Mike McCoy is the winner of the 2010 Bronko Nagurski “Legends” Award, which recognizes the “best of the best” of defensive football players from the past 40 years.
The award will be presented during the annual Bronko Nagurski Award Banquet Monday, Dec. 6, 2010, at The Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C.
McCoy was a consensus All-American at Notre Dame where he graduated with a degree in economics. The Packers drafted McCoy as the second overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft. McCoy, originally from Erie, Pa., contributed to the Packers winning the 1972 NFC Central Division, while also leading Green Bay in quarterback sacks in 1973 and 1976.
“I am humbled to receive this prestigious award and to be mentioned with some of the great defensive players of the past. I want to thank my family, my high school coach Tony Zambroski, my line coach at Notre Dame Joe Yonto and my Notre Dame teammates for the impact they had on my life and career,” said McCoy.
“Today Mike McCoy is the honored recipient of the Bronko Nagurski `Legends’ Award, but in the past he has received the Packers Rookie of the Year, All Pro Player, Dodge NFL Man of the Year, and was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Although these football achievements qualify the All-American for the award, the Football Writers Association feels that Mike’s achievements off the field put him way above the other finalists,” said Steve Richardson, executive director for the Football Writers Association of America.
McCoy was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the Council on Sports for a Drug Free America and by former Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh to the Pennsylvania Council for Physical Fitness. McCoy served as the chaplain of the Atlanta Braves and currently serves on several community outreach boards.
The initial “Legends” award, sponsored by CSX Intermodal, was presented in 2007 to players from the 1966 season, the first year the FWAA All-American Teams were separated into defense and offense. “It is an honor to carry on the tradition of the Bronko Nagurski Legends Award,” said James R. Hertwig, president of CSX Intermodal. “Mike McCoy’s outstanding contributions, both on and off the field, make him the ideal recipient of this year’s award.”
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is presented annually by the Charlotte Touchdown Club and he FWAA to the nation’s most outstanding NCAA defensive football player. The Charlotte Touchdown Club also honors local college and high school football players and over the last decade has raised nearly $1,000,000 for student athletic scholarships throughout the Charlotte Metro Area.