Newport Beach, Ca. – “Whoa, Nellie.” Keith Jackson is coming to Orange County.
The legendary college football broadcaster will serve as the keynote speaker for the fifth annual Lott Trophy Awards Banquet Dec. 14 at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach.
A network announcer for 53 years, Jackson has worked most every major event in sports, including the Olympics, the World Series and the NBA Finals. But he is most associated with college football and his trademark sayings such as “Fummm-ble” and “The big uglies,” a reference to offensive linemen.
Jackson has been named National Sportscaster of the year five times in his career and is a member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame.
Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. The Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.
Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, the award is given to a player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
David Pollack of Georgia won the initial Lott Trophy in 2004. DeMeco Ryans of Alabama won the award in 2005 Daymeion Hughes of Cal was the recipient in 2006 and Glenn Dorsey of LSU in 2007. Georgia, Alabama, Cal and LSU each received $25,000 for their general scholarship funds. In four years, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has donated more than $450,000 to various charities, including the four universities.
Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, The IMPACT Foundation Board of Advisors comprised of retired NFL players and Master Coaches, a distinguished group of former head college coaches.
Previous keynote speakers at the banquet have been Jack Kemp, Frank Gifford, Bill Walsh, John Robinson, Marcus Allen and Merlin Olsen.