Thirty-two nominations have been received for this year’s Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the Football Writers Association of America.
Coordinated by the staff at the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, the Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the FWAA was created in June 2012 “to honor an individual and/or a group with a military background and/or involvement that has an impact within the realm of college football.”
With the 2025 honoree being announced the week of November 9, the 14th recipient of the Armed Forces Merit Award will be determined by a selection committee of seven FWAA members and two Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl representatives.
Here is a brief description of the nominations
- Fisher DeBerry’s (retired Air Force coach and NFF Hall of Famer) Coaches for Charity in Colorado and South Carolina helps fund youth football camps. I attended last spring’s event in Colorado, where coaches from five of the 10 football-playing schools in the Centennial State joined Coach DeBerry in raising money for youth football.
- U. S. Marine veteran Levi Moell is the third leading rusher at 3-1 Dayton. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
- U. S. Army veteran and 19th-ranked Missouri running back coach Curtis Luper is leading the 5-0 Tigers’ rushing attack that is third-ranked in the FBS.
- U. S. Military Academy grad Nicholas Schrage is coaching at William & Mary after serving a decade in the U. S. Army.
- U. S. Navy veteran Lance Barilow is in his fifth season at 11th-ranked and 4-0 Texas Tech as the strength and conditioning coach.
- The Bronze Boot Run and CFP Executive Director Richard Clark were semi-finalists for the 2024 Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the FWAA.
Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the FWAA – 2025 Nominations
Programs (6)
- Battlefields To Ballfields, Mike Pereira, CEO/President/Director
- Bronze Boot Run – Laramie to Fort Collins before the Wyoming at Colorado State football game.
- Colorado Coaches for Charity – Led by Fisher DeBerry, football coaches on the Front Range gather to raise money.
- Thomas University Military Transition Initiative
Junior College Football
- Georgia Military College, Milledgeville, Ga.
- New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, N.M.
Active Players (2)
- David Garland, Columbia University, DL, 6-2, 245, Sen., Springfield, Mo. (U. S. Navy)
- Levi Moell, Dayton University, WR, 5-7, 189, Jun., West Liberty, Ohio (U. S. Marines)
Football Coaching Staff (17)
- Troy Calhoun, Head Coach, United States Air Force Academy (U. S. Air Force)
- Jake Campbell, Slot Backs, United States Air Force Academy (U. S. Air Force)
- Anthony Goliver, Special Teams/Offensive Analyst, UCLA (U. S. Navy)
- Robert Green, Cornerbacks, United States Naval Academy (U. S. Marine Corps)
- Charlie Jackson, Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs, United States Air Force Academy (U. S. Air Force)
- Brian Knorr, Defensive Coordinator, U. S. Air Force Academy (U. S. Air Force)
- Ken Lamendola, Inside Linebackers, U. S. Air Force Academy (U. S. Air Force)
- Steed Lobotzke, Offensive Line, United States Air Force Academy (U. S. Air Force)
- Curtis Luper, Running Backs, Missouri (U. S. Army)
- Alex Means, Defensive Line, United States Air Force Academy (U. S. Air Force)
- Ben Miller, Head Coach Analyst, Illinois (U. S. Air Force)
- John Rudzinski, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs, Virginia (U. S. Air Force)
- Nicholas Schrage, Quality Control Coach for Defense and Special Teams, College of William & Mary (U. S. Army)
- Brett Skene, Specialists/Offensive Line, United States Air Force Academy (U. S. Air Force)
- Mike Thiessen, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks, United States Air Force Academy (U. S. Air Force)
- Charlton Warren, Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs, North Carolina State (U. S. Air Force)
- Mick Yokitis, Wide Receivers, United States Naval Academy (U. S. Navy)
Football Support Staff (6)
- Lance Barilow, Strength & Conditioning Coach, Texas Tech University (U. S. Navy)
- Clayton Kendrick-Holmes, Chief of Staff/Football Operations, United States Military Academy (U. S. Navy)
- Chris Lehmann, Colorado & Colorado State Football, Wyoming Air National Guard
- Jordon Simmons, Assistant Head Coach – Strength and Conditioning Coach, Colorado State University (U. S. Army)
- Lamar Sorey, Quality Control – Personnel, University of Florida (U. S. Army) – Article
- Rusty Whitt, Director, Strength and Conditioning, Tulsa University (U. S. Army)
College Football Playoffs (1)
- Rich Clark, Executive Director (U. S. Air Force)
Past AFMA recipients
- Nate Boyer, 2012, Texas
- Brandon McCoy, 2013, North Texas
- Daniel Rodriguez, 2014, Clemson
- Bret Robertson, 2015, Westminster
- Steven Rhodes, 2016, Middle Tennessee
- Kansas State, 2017
- Chris Howard, 2018, Robert Morris
- Mike Viti, 2019, Army West Point
- Collin O’Donnell, 2020, Bluefield
- Damien Jackson, 2021, Nebraska
- Paris Johnson Jr. Foundation, 2022
- Tyler Huff, 2023, Furman
- Jack Hawkins, 2024, Troy
