July 26, 2005

The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (NFF), announced that former Rice football standout Matt Sign has joined the organization as its new Chief Operating Officer.

In his new post, Sign will oversee several key programs for the Foundation, including leading the Foundation's efforts to expand its grassroots network of 119 chapters and 12,000 members. Currently, NFF chapters host more than 315 events and distribute more than $775,000 in local scholarships each year. Sign has also been tasked with coordinating the NFL/NFF Coaching Academy, which this year trained more 12,000 youth and high school coaches at 62 different locations. He will also manage the Foundation's relations with Division I-A schools.

Sign ran a number of major programs for Florida Citrus Sports (FCS), including the Champs Sports Bowl and the Gridiron Classic College All-Star Game. At FCS, he implemented a plan that saw back-to-back sellout crowds at the 2004 and 2005 College All-Star games. Sign has also spent time at CBS Sports working with the lead college football announcing team of Verne Lundquist and Todd Blackledge.

At Rice Sign was a four-year letterman at nose guard from 1989 to 1992. The Arlington native earned all-Southwest Conference honors in each of his final two years with the Owls.

Founded in 1947 by Grantland Rice, General Douglas MacArthur, and Colonel (Red) Blaik, the NFF is a non-profit educational organization that 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.