Miscellaneous

The Augusta Sports Council has announced the nominees for the 2011 Ray Guy Award, which identifies the nation’s top collegiate punter. Among the 53 candidates are 2009 winner and 2010 finalist, Drew Butler of Georgia. Candidates were nominated for the award by their school’s sports information department.

The list will be narrowed to ten semi-finalists to be announced on November 11. Following the semi-finalists announcement, a national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, coaches, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners will vote for the top three finalists, who will be identified on November 21.  The voting body will then cast ballots to select the winner.

The presentation of the Ray Guy Award will be featured on The Home Depot College Football Awards live on Thursday, December 8 at 9:00 pm ET on ESPN. The show, hosted by ESPN’s Chris Fowler, Lee Corson, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard will feature live presentation of nine player awards, along with the recipients of Disney’s Spirit Award, The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, the NCFAA (National College Football Awards Association) Contributions to College Football Award, and student-athletes selected to the Walter Camp All-America Team. Fans can visit the show’s dedicated web site at www.espncollegefootballawards.com to find the latest college football awards news, including show details, previous winners, fan voting, a photo gallery and video highlights.

2011 Ray Guy Award Candidates
Bryan Anger - California
Ben Armer - Western Michigan
Will Atterberry - North Texas
Trey Barrow - Missouri
Tyler Bennett - Utah State
Peter Boehme - Southern Mississippi
Dylan Breeding - Arkansas
Ben Buchanan - Ohio State
Drew Butler - Georgia
Ian Campbell - UTEP
Tyler Campbell - Ole Miss
Steven Clark - Auburn
Bobby Cowan - Idaho
Ryan Doerr - Kansas State
Ron Doherty - Kansas
Kyle Dugandzic - Arizona
Anthony Fera – Penn State

Will Goggans - Troy
Mickey Groody - Florida Atlantic
Eric Guthrie - Iowa
Johnny Hekker - Oregon State
Tom Hornsey - Memphis
Jimmy Howell - Virginia
Josh Hubner - Arizona State
Jay Karutz - Eastern Michigan
Anson Kelton - TCU
Alex King - Duke
Pete Kontodiakos - Colorado State
Scott Kovanda - Ball State
Chase Lansford - UNLV
Richie Leone - Houston
Jeff Locke - UCLA
Brett Maher - Nebraska
Kyle Martens - Rice
Austin McCoy - Wyoming
Brandon McManus - Temple
Kyle Negrete - USC
Brad Nortman - Wisconsin
Pat O’Donnell - Cincinnati
Shawn Powell - Florida State
Ryan Quigley - Boston College
Jackson Rice - Oregon
Matt Rinehart - Kent State
Brian Schmiedebusch - Bowling Green
Quinn Sharp - Oklahoma State
Brian Stahovich - San Diego State
Riley Stephenson – BYU
Ryan Tydlacka - Kentucky
Kirby Van Der Kamp - Iowa State
Cole Wagner - Connecticut
Cody Webster - Purdue
Kase Whitehead - Marshall
Brad Wing - LSU
Dawson Zimmerman - Clemson

Ray Guy Award
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Georgia native and College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. The Ray Guy Award winner is determined by a national voting body of sports writers, college coaches, sports information directors, and past Ray Guy Award winners. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times a punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage, and percentage of punts not returned. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline, and have a positive impact on the team’s success.

Augusta Sports Council
The Augusta Sports Council (ASC), a non-profit organization dedicated to marketing the Augusta area as a destination for amateur sporting events, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2011. The ASC attracts, creates and supports dozens of sporting events and activities each year, generating a positive economic impact and enhancing the quality of life for residents of the greater Augusta community. To learn more, visit www.augustasportscouncil.org.

National College Football Awards Association
The Ray Guy Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official website, www.ncfaa.org.