About Us

• Promotes the game on every level

• Provides scholarships to deserving student-athletes

• Supports and promotes NFF outreach programs that target parents, coaches, administrators and student-athletes

• Initiates All-Star games, college nights, mentoring programs and informational sessions

• Honors the games’ best by nominating and voting for College Football Hall of Fame inductees.

The National Football Foundation hon- ors those who honor the game, those who have revealed a love of country, concern for their fellow American and the nation’s youth, those who get involved in community affairs and who care about today’s problems and tomorrow’s leadership.

To achieve aims, The Foundation seeks to establish the true concept of football and to gain recognition of the significant role it plays in the preservation and advancement of our way of life. It endeavors to attain these goals by disseminating relevant

information through its own publications and the other voices that reach the public, by granting awards and fellowships for postgraduate study to college seniors who have been outstanding in football ability, academic achievement and campus leader- ship during their undergraduate years, and by honoring in the College Football Hall of Fame those college players and coaches whose deeds and lives during and after their playing and coaching days have been exemplary and inspiring.

Throughout the country, over 12,000

members of The Foundation, working through their local chapters, honor and award to high school scholar-athletes fel- lowships for their college undergraduate studies.

The Foundation, in accomplishing its purposes, serves not only the youth, but the nation as well. For high school and col- lege football conducted and played in the proper way, teaches lessons in conjunction with those taught in the classroom, helping to mold young Americans sound in heart, mind and body. 

Six notable Southern Nevada residents gave

the National Football Foundation a home in Southern Nevada.

Bob Blum

(1920-2012)

Bob Blum is the godfather of sports broad- casting in Southern Nevada. A native of South Bend, IN, he attended the University of Notre Dame. Blum served in the Air Force and moved west to California following World War II.

During his 23-year stint in the Bay Area, Blum’s voice graced numerous broadcasts. In addition to his work with broadcasts for the San Jose State University and University of Santa Clara foot- ball and basketball teams, he broadcast games for Major League Baseball and National Football League franchises, including the San Francisco Giants, Oak- land Raiders and San Diego Chargers.

He arrived in Las Vegas in 1973 and began to broadcast UNLV Rebels football, basketball, baseball, and Lady Rebels basketball games. In February of 2006, Blum broadcast his 1,000th UNLV sports event. In all, he was a part of more than 3,000 events, ranging from high school to college to professional events.

Throughout his career, Blum was hon- ored on numerous occasions. In 1998, he was honored at the All-American Football Foundation banquet as its recipient of the Lindsay Nelson Sportscaster Award honoring individuals for lifetime achievement in the field of sports broadcasting. In 2003, Blum was named Nevada Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He is also a member of UNLV’s Athletic Hall of Fame’s Class of 2000. In addition to his broadcasting duties, Blum worked with the Las Vegas 51’s, and was part of the organization since 1984.

“It was Bob Blum who pushed for our chapter to be named after Bill Ireland,” says Branan Allison. “He was really the driving force behind the Las Vegas chapter for many years. It was his belief that our local high school football talent needed to be recognized nationally, and that motivated him to be so involved.”

Angelo Collis

(1921-1997)

The contribution to sports in Southern Nevada by Angelo Collis goes far beyond any one single accomplishment. A successful coach and award-winning administrator, Collis also governed the interscholastic officiating in Nevada, and may have made his largest contribution by being the founding father of the local Pop Warner Football league. Football was always a huge part of his long and prosperous life.

In 1973, he was named one of the nation’s top five most outstanding athletic directors for his work at Clark High School. As a coach, Collis won four state football championships and compiled a 61-24 record in

his nine years. He was also the commissioner of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association.

Collis was born in McGill, Nevada, just outside of Ely, Nevada, and was a standout athlete. He went on to earn a B.S. degree at Utah State University and an M.S. degree at the University of Nevada-Reno. After college, Collis coached and taught at White Pine High School in Ely for five years before relocating to Southern Ne- vada. In 1973, Collis earned the Shering Award from the National Council of Secondary School Athletic Directors as one of five outstanding athletics directors in the nation. In 1988 he received the National Federation Citation for past contributions to interscholastic athletics. He was also inducted into the Clark County High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.

Chapter namesake Bill Ireland

(1927-2007)

Bill Ireland was a man of many firsts and a pioneer. The National Football Foundation—Las Vegas Chapter is officially named the Bill Ireland/Las Vegas Chapter due to his efforts to create the organization. In addition, Ireland was the first football coach at UNLV (1967). At the time, the school was known as Nevada Southern University.

Ireland took on the daunting task of a start-up football program and compiled an

amazing 8-1 record a record for a first- year program playing a schedule against four-year universities. Since then, UNLV has turned out many great football players over the years. From Randall Cunning- ham and Ickey Woods to Keenan McCardell, they all have Ireland to thank for it.

After seven years on the sidelines, Ireland gave up the whistle and became UNLV athletic director and took on an- other daunting task. He oversaw UNLV’s emergence to the Division 1 level and was present for the school’s first trip to the Final Four in 1977 when Jerry Tarkanian led the nation’s highest scoring team to the highest levels of college basketball.

Mario Monaco

Mario Monaco will always cherish his time and effort on behalf of the National Football Foundation and the kids it honors each year with scholarships and recognition. And the friends who he worked with as part of the organization.

Monaco is a member of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame, and has been involved in the form- ing of several of the top sports organizations in the history of Las Vegas. He worked for the Clark County School District for more than 30 years serving as principal at Gibson Junior High School, Rancho High School, and Southern Nevada Vocational and Technical Center. And Monaco Middle School was named in the honor of he, and his wife, Joanne, a retired school nurse.

He was one of the founders of the Southern Nevada Pop Warner football league and also the Las Vegas youth T-Ball league. He also served as a Hall of Fame member representative for National Football Foundation.

Founder Bill “WildCat” Morris

(1928-1998)

Football was a passion for Bill “Wildcat” Morris and he knew the benefits of playing the game, and the importance of the National Football Foundation. “If I had been deprived of football, I would not have finished high school, college, and gone on to law school,” said Morris in an article in the Las Vegas Sun in 1993.

Morris was best known as one of UNLV’s top boosters and founding member of the school’s University Rebels Club. But Morris’ contributions extend far beyond his work on the booster club. Morris was born in Enid, Oklahoma in 1927 and passed away in July of 1998. He resided in Clark County for 59 years, and left an indelible mark on the community.

After being named MVP of the 1944 Las Vegas High School football team that went undefeated, un-scored upon and did not al- low consecutive first downs for an entire sea- son, Morris went on to a standout career at Nevada-Reno and played in the1948 Hula Bowl. It was while playing for Las Vegas High School that he earned the nickname “Wildcat”, also the school’s mascot

Morris practiced law for more than 40 years in Southern Nevada. His work on behalf of the UNLV Booster’s Club was instrumental in acquiring funding, lobbying lawmakers, and recruiting students, teachers, coaches, and administrators for UNLV programs. In addition, he served on the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Board of Directors and he was a University of Nevada regent. He devoted many of his efforts toward the building of Sam Boyd Stadium, the Thomas & Mack Center, and the Paul McDermott Physical Education Complex. Morris has been

inducted into both the Nevada-Reno and UNLV Halls of Fame in addition to the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.

Founder Tom Wiesner

(1939-2002)

Like the other founders football was a part of Tom Wiesner’s heart and soul. And his passion to succeed first honed on the gridiron, took him from a small town in Wisconsin to the lofty heights of the NFL to becoming one of Las Vegas’ most prosperous businessmen. After graduating from Neenah High School in Wisconsin, Wiesner signed to play football tor the University of Wisconsin. In 1959, Wiesner and the Fighting Badgers were Big 10 Champions. The following year, he was selected as co-captain and Most Valuable Player. He led his team to the 1960 Rose Bowl. After college, Wiesner enjoyed a brief career in profes- sional football, when he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Rams.

Upon leaving the NFL, Wiesner moved to semi-pro football where he played for two years. In 1963, Wiesner left his foot- ball days behind when he moved to Las Vegas. In Las Vegas, he became known, not as fullback and linebacker, but as a businessman and humanitarian. Wiesner was the owner and operator of the well-known Big Dog’s Hospitality and he developed the Las Vegas Athletic Clubs and owned the former Marina Hotel and Casino, where the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino now stands. He also created the UNLV Football Foundation and organized major football games between UNLV and the University of Wisconsin, which annually were sellouts at Sam Boyd Stadium. 

The Bill Ireland/Las Vegas Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame is active in the Las Vegas community in many ways. The organization has awarded more than $380,000 over the years, helping dozens of local high school football players pur- sue their dream of a college education. Once again in 2015 the committee has selected several deserving athletes to receive scholarships for high education. For a complete list of recipients turn to page seven of this program.

The organization and its members and founders have also contributed to several other causes, and diligently worked to ensure the talent of high school football players is recognized nationally. Mario Monaco remembers vividly the first meetings of the Las Vegas Chapter, usually hosted by either Bill “Wildcat” Morris at his Landmark Hotel, or Tom Wiesner, at a Big Dog’s location. Without fail, the bill for the food and drinks was taken care of by the host. The meetings were fun and a chance for friends to get together, but serious and impactful business was always a part of the mission.

“We believed we had a lot of talent at the high school level in Southern Nevada, and that it wasn’t always being recog- nized like we thought it should be,” says Monaco, the last surviving founder. “And our organization was an extension of the community and many other efforts we all were involved with, whether it was Pop Warner, the Donna Kutzen Youth Foundation, or whatever. I am not sure people understand how much some of the so called ‘old timers’ of Las Vegas gave back to the kids in this community, whatever their backgrounds were. If kids needed something, this community stepped up over and over again.”

- By Brian Hurlburt -

Some of the future founders were also a part of bringing the American Football League to Las Vegas for the first profes- sional football game ever played in Las Vegas. On August 29, 1964, the Oakland Raiders played the Houston Oilers at the old Cashman Field. The event was organized by Wilbur Clark’s Cavalcade of Charities and drew a huge crowd. Monaco was an organizer, and still remembers the pageantry associated with one of the biggest events in Las Vegas history to that point. Too many people to mention have been a part of the National Football Foundation—Bill Ireland/Las Vegas Chapter but the six founders are Bob Blum, An- gelo Collis, Bill Ireland, Mario Monaco, Bill “Wildcat” Morris, and Tom Wiesner. For complete bios of each see page four.

For several years, a partnership with Clark County helped fund the scholarships while more recently key support has come from the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and the Rider Relief Fund. The PBR and NFF LV partner on a charitable event that helps raise the dollars that are given away each year.

Other big supporters include Bruce Bayne and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame. Overall, the mission of The National Football Foundation seeks to not only honor the great players and coaches in the history of college football, but to also inspire our nation’s youth to compete on the athletic fields and in the classroom and to assume leadership roles on the high school and college campuses today. In a broad, but very significant sense, The National Football Foundation is a nation- wide educational organization. It enlists the ex-player, educator, athletic director and coach, the football official, writer and commentator, and the football fan in the service of the American youth. It

strives to promote football as an integral and wholesome part of our educational process; to inculcate the ideals of sports manship into the mind of the spectator as well as that of the player; to encourage the most beneficial direction and playing of the game at schools and colleges throughout the country.

In a broad, but very significant sense, The National Football Foundation is a nationwide educational organization. It enlists the ex-player, educator, athletic director and coach, the football official, writer and commentator, and the football fan in the service of the American youth. It strives to promote football as an integral and wholesome part of our educational process; to inculcate the ideals of sports- manship into the mind of the spectator as well as that of the player; to encourage the most beneficial direction and playing of the game at schools and colleges through out the country.

The chapter network is the heart and soul of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. The chapter members become a vital part of the crusade for amateur football. The local chapter contributions help to provide more scholarships to deserving student-athlete football players, to expand existing programs and initiate new ones, to assist in the development of football programs at the youth, high school, and college level in your community and across the country, and to take a vital stake in making sure that no qualified student-athlete is turned away from pursuing their dream.

Chapters offer members the chance for real hands-on involvement with the student-athletes, NFF programs, schools, and youth leagues in the Las Vegas area.