Paul Hornung Award

Paul Hornung Award
File:Paulhornungaward logo.png
Awarded for	The collegiate American football player adjudged to be the most versatile of all NCAA players
Presented by	Louisville Sports Commission
Location	Louisville, Kentucky
Country	United States
First awarded	2010
Currently held by	Tavon Austin, West Virginia
Official website	http://www.paulhornungaward.com

The Paul Hornung Award is a college football award that was created in January 2010 by the Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) with the support of Paul Hornung, a native and resident of Louisville, Kentucky and member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The mission of the award is to recognize and reward versatile, high-level performers in major college football; to help preserve the legacy Hornung, of one of Louisville’s native sons and sports icons; and to promote Louisville as a great sports town.

Eponym

Paul Hornung is considered by many the most versatile player in the history of college and pro football.^{[citation needed]} He won the 1956 Heisman Trophy at quarterback for Notre Dame and was the No. 1 pick in the 1957 NFL Draft. He played every position in the backfield during his career with the Irish, where he also punted, kicked, returned kicks and played defensive back.^{[citation needed]} While in the NFL, he was an offensive back and kicker. He was a member of four NFL championship teams as an All-Pro halfback for the Green Bay Packers and led the NFL in scoring from 1959 to 1961, setting the single season scoring record in 1960 with 176 points. He was named league MVP following the 1961 season.^{[citation needed]}

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, a candidate must be in good standing and eligible on his team during the selection process, eligible with the NCAA during the selection process and play significant time during most or all of the season. Decisions regarding status for the award will be made by the Oversight Committee. In addition to starting or playing significant downs on offense or defense, candidates will be measured by performance from among one or more of the following:

• Playing multiple positions on offense and/or multiple positions on defense
• Playing a significant role on special teams
• Performing as a two-way player who starts either on offense or defense and is used on the other side of the ball in some capacity
• Making a significant impact during big games and elevating the team's performance through leadership displayed by excelling in multiple roles

Winners

Year	Player	Position	School
2010	Owen Marecic	FB & LB	Stanford
2011	Brandon Boykin	CB & RS	Georgia
2012	Tavon Austin	WR & RS	West Virginia