PRINCETON, N.J. & IRVING, TEXAS (Sept. 26, 2024) - The Ivy League and The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) today announced exciting new details for the annual ceremony to present the Asa S. Bushnell Cup to the Ivy League Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.
New for this year, the league will invite three finalists for the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year (up from two). Those finalists will be announced on Dec. 3. Each, along with their families, respective head coaches, and athletic directors, will be on hand for the live announcement. Also new, College GameDay, Built by The Home Depot host and longtime ESPN on-air personality Rece Davis, will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the festivities, which will move to the prestigious Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center.
Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris will announce the winners. She will be joined by the athletic directors and head coaches from every Ivy team, former players, alums, and national media. The new developments are part of an official partnership between the NFF and Bruin Capital to enhance and expand the platform into a wide-ranging celebration of the talented student-athletes and the values learned playing football in the Ivy League.
“The Asa S. Bushnell Cup presentation is one of college football's most unique postseason award ceremonies,” said Harris. “I’m thrilled that our football student-athletes will be able to experience this deserved celebration of their accomplishments on and off the field. The league is grateful to Steven Hatchell and Matthew Sign (NFF) and George Pyne (Bruin Capital) for their time and support in reimagining and elevating what was already a first-class event.”
“The Asa S. Bushnell Cup Presentation remains a seminal event for the National Football Foundation and the college football community at large to showcase those players who truly embody the scholar-athlete ideal,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “Having an enhanced and expanded event will allow us to attract a larger audience, generating a new sense of excitement. We are extremely grateful for the leadership and support of George Pyne and his firm Bruin Capital for stepping forward to sponsor the event and help lead the charge.”
George Pyne, an All-Ivy League Offensive Lineman at Brown, has served on the NFF Board of Trustees since 2009 and became an inaugural inductee into the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame in 2013. Pyne, one of the nation’s most influential sports business leaders, has been closely involved with the NFF’s connection to the Asa Bushnell Cup since the NFF first got involved in 2010, including serving as the emcee for many years. Last year, Pyne and his firm Bruin Capital, a private company that partners with businesses spanning the global sports ecosystem, stepped forward as the sponsor of the event, and this year, Bruin Capital has expanded its role by leading the growth of the affair.
“I’m extraordinarily proud of our association with the Ivy League and the National Football Foundation and honored to play a small role in helping celebrate these great athletes and the best traditions of football. I’m looking forward to this event, which we believe can become one of the truly special events in the annual sports calendar,” said Pyne.
Presented annually since 1970, the Asa S. Bushnell Cup honors its namesake, a 1921 Princeton alumnus and the commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference from 1938 to 1970. The Bushnell Cup is awarded by a vote of the Ivy League’s eight head football coaches to the players who display outstanding qualities of leadership, competitive spirit, contribution to the team, and accomplishments on the field.
From 1970 to 2010, the Bushnell Cup recognized an Ivy League Player of the Year (or co-Players of the Year if there was a tie in voting). In 2011, the Ivy League began recognizing both an offensive and a defensive player of the year. Beginning with the 2010 season, the Ivy League and the NFF have partnered at the end of the season to present the award.
Click here for more information about the award and its connection to the National Football Foundation, including a list of past winners.
The event is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. For more information on purchasing tickets or a table, please contact
news@footballfoundation.com.
ABOUT BRUIN CAPITAL
Bruin Capital was founded in 2015 by George Pyne, a Brown University graduate and All-Ivy League Offensive Lineman for the then-Bruins. Bruin is a private company that partners with businesses spanning the global sports ecosystem. Its operating companies operate worldwide and have thousands of employees and offices on four continents. They connect millions of consumers to sports via emerging technologies, original content, live events, platforms, gaming, and premium experiences on behalf of more than 500 blue chip federations, leagues, brands, and rights holders.
ABOUT THE IVY LEAGUE
The Ivy League stands at the pinnacle of higher education and Division I athletics, rooted in the longstanding, defining principle that intercollegiate athletics competition should be "kept in harmony with the essential educational purposes of the institution." The League's world-renowned schools - Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale - serve as the standard bearers for inspiring and transforming student-athletes to boldly take on the world's challenges and lead lives of great impact. For more information, please visit IvyLeague.com.
ABOUT The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame 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 young people. With 120 chapters in 47 states, NFF programs include the criteria, selection and induction of members of the College Football Hall of Fame; the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta; Future For Football; I Played; the William V. Campbell Trophy®; the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Awards presented by the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation & Hatchell Cup presented by the Original Bob’s Steak & Chop House; and a series of programs and initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Bruin Capital, Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Hampshire Companies, Hanold Associates Executive Search, Jostens, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, New York Athletic Club, Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.