2019 Wisconsin Football Foundation Scholar Athlete team

Dominic Backes -------  Sun Prairie HS

Davis Barthen ------ Menomonie HS

Henry “Hank” Basala ----- Stevens Point Pacelli HS

William Brazgel ----- Lake Country Lutheran HS

Jebediah Frey ----- Waunakee HS

Cayden Milz ----- Black Hawk HS

Riley Nowakowski ----- Marquette University HS

Isaiah Place ----- Lancaster HS

Carson Richardson ----- Rio/Fall River HS

Dylan Schuster ----- Greendale HS

Brandon Wilde ----- Palmyra-Eagle HS

     For many years, our Chapter was invited to submit the name of one Scholar-Athlete for consideration as the NFF Midwest Scholar-Athlete of the Year.  Five regions of our country had been identified by the NFF, and the NFF selected one Scholar-Athlete from each region.  These top 5 scholar-athletes were then honored in New York City each December at the NFF’s annual banquet.

      Last year, however, the NFF changed this format, and invited each Chapter to submit one honoree, which meant that scholar-athlete would be on the NFF Team of Distinction. The members of this team have all played their final high school game during the 2019 football season.  Criteria to make the team include, but are not limited to academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement.     

     Each honoree will be included in a national press release; each will receive a one-of-a-kind certificate, signed by both Steve Hatchell, President & CEO of the NFF, as well as Archie Manning, Chairman of the NFF.  Each player’s picture, high school and chapter will be on display in a special section of the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.

     Last year the NFF Chapter Network recognized 81 stellar high school scholar-athletes from across the country for their combined performance on the football field, in the classroom and in the community.  Logan O’Brien from Fennimore High School was the Wisconsin Chapter’s honoree last year.  Logan had a 4.0 GPA, was FB Team Captain, an All State selection, Valedictorian and National Honor Society member.

     NFF Chairman Archie Manning stated last year that:  “This honor is one of the most prestigious national awards that a high school player can receive, and it really brings into focus the phenomenal work that our chapters do in identifying the most outstanding young leaders in their communities.” 

     With 120 chapters and more than 12,000 members, the NFF Chapter Network impacts more than 500,000 student-athletes at 5,000 high schools around the country each year.  The centerpiece of the Chapter Network’s efforts are the annual chapter awards events, which recognize more than 3,500 of the nation’s top scholar-athletes and distribute more than $1.3 million in scholarships annually to high school & college scholar-athletes

The Wisconsin Chapter’s honoree for the 2019-2020 NFF Team of Distinction is Riley Nowakowski from Marquette University High School.  Riley’s accomplishments include:

-Co-Captain Senior year; 1st team All State
-achieving high honors every semester;  3.84 GPA
-leading the “Tackling Autism” football camp
-being named the 2019 recipient of the John Anderson Award as the Most Outstanding Senior Linebacker in Wisconsin
-preferred walk on for the Wisconsin Badgers FB team