Colorado University Athletics
Lengyel Wins Prestigious Toner Award
MORRISTOWN, N.J. -- Jon F. Hanson, Chairman of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF), announced Tuesday that University of Colorado interim athletic director Jack Lengyel has been selected to receive the 2005 John L. Toner Award.
The award is presented annually to a director of athletics who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics, particularly college football.
"Jack's record as an athletics director has been remarkable," said Hanson. "In recent years, he has demonstrated the innate ability to rejuvenate and re-energize institutions at critical times, and his legacy at Navy will be remembered for years to come."
Lengyel served as athletics director at Navy for 13 years, managing one of the largest athletics departments in the nation with 30 different sports. During his tenure, Lengyel played a major role in improving the athletic
facilities at the Naval Academy, while the Midshipmen won 60% of their contests, including a 78% winning record vs. Army during his last four years.
Prior to Lengyel's arrival at Navy, he served as athletics director at Fresno State and Missouri. Since his retirement from Navy in 2001, he has played an important role as interim athletics director at Eastern Kentucky, Temple and most recently, the University of Colorado.
The presentation will be made at the NFF's Annual Awards Luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on Tuesday, December 6, 2005. The Luncheon will also feature the presentation of the NFF's National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards, the Outstanding Football Official Award and Chapter Leadership Awards. Later that evening, Lengyel will be recognized and seated on the dais at the NFF's 48th Annual Awards Dinner.
JACK LENGYEL SNAPSHOT
A leader in coaching and university administration for over 30 years, Jack Lengyel has instilled a lasting and positive influence at numerous institutions during his lengthy career.
Lengyel served as a head coach for 18 years at all three NCAA levels in football, lacrosse, baseball, wrestling and swimming. In 1971, he went to Marshall University to rebuild the football program after a fatal plane crash left it devastated. He remained there for four seasons while restoring a four-year class structure for the football team.
Although he has worked for numerous universities, Lengyel is best known as the athletics director at the United States Naval Academy, where he served for 13 years until 2001. He worked hard to market Navy athletics, one of the largest athletics departments in the nation with 30 sports. During his tenure, Lengyel played a major role in improving the athletics facilities at the Naval Academy, while the Midshipmen won 60% of their contests, including a 78% winning record vs. Army during his last four years as athletics
director.
Prior to arriving at Navy, Lengyel gained national recognition as associate athletics director at the University of Louisville (1978-80) and the University of Missouri (1980-83) and director of athletics at Fresno State
University (1983-86) before returning to Missouri as its athletics director (1986-88). At Fresno State, he revived a program on probation, improved old facilities and added new ones. Eight Bulldog teams achieved a Division I-A Top-20 ranking in his final 18 months there.
Lengyel has served in a number of administrative capacities throughout the college community. He is a former president of the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and has served on its executive committee. Lengyel has also been awarded the prestigious James J. Corbett Award given by NACDA for a distinguished career and contributions to college athletics. Such contributions earned him the National Football Foundation's Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award in 1997. An NFF board
member, Lengyel is the chairman of the Divisional Honors Court, which annually selects the College Football Hall of Fame Divisional Class.
Since his retirement at Navy, Lengyel has continued to demonstrate his superior university administrative skills, serving has interim director of athletics at Temple University, Eastern Kentucky University, and most
recently, University of Colorado.
With 119 chapters and over 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in America's young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, The NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College (Mass.), the NFL-NFF Coaching Academy, and annual
scholarships of nearly $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes.
The Colorado Chapter is one of the most active in the membership, and was the first to create a specific postseason honors team for schools in its boundary (the All-Colorado team). Assistant AD David Plati represents CU on the Colorado Chapter board.