National Football Foundation Honors Butler’s Bill Lynch

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Butler Associate Athletic Director Bill Lynch, who served as head football coach at four universities in Indiana, has been named recipient of the Distinguished American Award from the National Football Foundation/College Hall of Fame Central Indiana Chapter.  He will receive his award at the organization’s annual banquet at the Indianapolis Colts Complex on Feb. 25.

Lynch, a three-time honorable mention All-American quarterback at Butler, served as head coach for the Bulldogs from 1985 to 1989.  He led Butler to four conference titles and to the 1988 NCAA Division II National Playoffs.  He went on to serve head coaching stints at Ball State (1995-2002), DePauw (2004) and Indiana (2007-10), before returning to Butler as an athletic administrator.

As a player, Lynch was a three-time Indiana Collegiate Conference Player of the Year, and he finished his career as Butler’s all-time leading passer.  He currently ranks third on Butler’s all-time passing list with 5,909 career yards, and he continues to hold Butler’s all-time record for touchdown passes with 60.  Lynch was inducted into the Butler Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

The National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award is among the highest offered by the organization.  Each year the NFF/College Football Hall of Fame pays tribute to a select few with awards of excellence for exhibiting superior qualities of scholarship, citizenship and leadership.  The Distinguished American Award is presented on special occasions to someone who has applied the character building attributes learned from amateur sport in their business and personal life, exhibiting superior leadership qualities in education, amateur athletics, business and in the community.

Previous recipients of the award include Indiana football legends Stewart “Red” Faught, Lamar Lundy, Jim Belden, Dick Dullaghan, Nick Mourouzis, Bill Mallory, Bob Terpening, Bill Bless, Dave Land, Bob Hicks, Max Andress, Jerry Brewer, Wayne Perry and Bob Springer.

Tickets for this year’s banquet are available by calling Geoff Bradley at 248-2670, ext. 13.