University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Harmon Named 2019 NFF Gold Medal Recipient
May 16, 2019 | Football
IRVING, Texas โ Former UCLA quarterback Mark Harmon has been named the 2019 recipient of the National Football Foundation Gold Medal in recognition of his exceptional accomplishments, unblemished reputation and for reflecting the values of amateur football, the NFF and College Football Hall of Fame announced Thursday.
The award is the highest and most prestigious bestowed by the NFF. Harmon will join a list of recipients that includes seven presidents, four generals, three admirals, one Supreme Court Justice and fellow Bruin Jackie Robinson during the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10 at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Included in the ceremonies will be a celebration of the 150th anniversary of college football.
"As we prepare to celebrate the 150th anniversary of college football, Mark Harmon captures exactly what we hope to inspire in future generations of young football players, making him the perfect recipient for the NFF's highest honor," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "An NFF National Scholar-Athlete at UCLA in the early 1970s, Mark took that same relentless drive to succeed, applying it to his career as an actor and unequivocally becoming one of the most successful stars of his generation. He has earned this honor many times over, and we are extremely proud to add his name to the esteemed list of past NFF Gold Medal recipients."
A native of Southern California, Harmon joined the UCLA football program in 1972 after two seasons at Pierce Junior College. During his two years under head coach Pepper Rodgers, Harmon and the Bruins posted a 17-5 record. Coming off an eighth-place finish in the Pac-8 in 1971, UCLA upset two-time defending national champion Nebraska in the 1972 season opener with Harmon at the helm of the offense.
Offensive coordinator Homer Smith's wishbone offense allowed Harmon to rush for 1,504 yards and 14 touchdowns while passing for 845 yards and nine scores. Teaming with running backs Kermit Johnson and James McAlister, Harmon helped UCLA to the nation's top rushing attack in 1973. As a team, the Bruins set school records with 4,403 total yards gained, 400 yards per game and 56 rushing touchdowns.
Off the field, Harmon majored in communications and graduated cum laude with a 3.45 grade-point average. He earned Second-Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and the NFF Scholar-Athlete Award.
Following his time at UCLA, Harmon pursued a career in acting. He earned his big break on NBC's St. Elsewhere and had continued success in such television shows as Reasonable Doubts, Chicago Hope, Moonlighting and The West Wing. Harmon recently signed on for the 17th season of NCIS in the lead role of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The show, on which Harmon is an executive producer, is the most-watched scripted show on American television today. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Oct. 1, 2012.
Harmon has also done charitable work with Saving Bristol Bay, Stand Up To Cancer, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Kids Wish Network, Clothes Off Our Back, Entertainment Industry Foundation, Oklahoma Kidz Charities Foundation, Oklahoma City Indian Clinic and The Children's Center OKC.
"Having achieved the highest levels of success, Mark Harmon has always remained humble and focused on the things that really matter in life, which is hard work, perseverance and teamwork," said NFF Awards Committee Chairman Jack Ford. "His success on the gridiron as a student-athlete and his subsequent icon status in film and television make him exceptionally well-qualified as our 2019 Gold Medal recipient. We look forward to welcoming him back to the NFF's stage in December, poetically 46 years after his being honored as an NFF National Scholar-Athlete during an event when another famous actor, John Wayne, accepted the NFF Gold Medal."
Recipients of the NFF Gold Medal include:
2019 โ Mark Harmon
2018 โ Aaron Feis
2018 โ Jason Seaman
2016 โ Archie Manning
2015 โ Dr. Condoleezza Rice
2014 โ Dr. Tom G. Catena
2014 โ George M. Weiss
2013 โ Roger Goodell
2012 โ Roscoe C. Brown, Jr.
2011 โ Robert M. Gates
2009 โ Bill Bowerman
2009 โ Phil Knight
2008 โ Sen. John Glenn
2007 โ Gen. Pete Dawkins
2007 โ Roger Staubach
2006 โ Bobby Bowden
2006 โ Joseph V. Paterno
2005 โ Jon F. Hanson
2004 โ William V. Campbell
2003 โ Gen. Tommy R. Franks
2002 โ George Steinbrenner III
2001 โ Billy Joe "Red" McCombs
2000 โ F.M. Kirby
1999 โ Keith Jackson
1998 โ John H. McConnell
1997 โ Jackie Robinson
1996 โ Eugene F. Corrigan
1995 โ Harold Alfond
1994 โ Thomas S. Murphy
1993 โ Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf
1992 โ Donald R. Keough
1991 โ Pres. George H. Bush
1990 โ Adm. Thomas H. Moorer
1989 โ Paul Brown
1988 โ Clinton E. Frank
1987 โ Gen. Charles R. Meyer
1986 โ William H. Morton
1985 โ William I. Spencer
1984 โ John F. McGillicuddy
1983 โ Sen. Jack Kemp
1982 โ Silver Anniversary โ
(All Past Honorees Recognized)
1981 โ Justin W. Dart
1980 โ Walter J. Zable
1979 โ Adm. William P. Lawrence
1978 โ Vincent dePaul Draddy
1977 โ Gen. Louis H. Wilson
1976 โ Edgar B. Speer
1975 โ David Packard
1974 โ Gerald B. Zornow
1973 โ John Wayne
1972 โ Pres. Gerald R. Ford
1971 โ Pres. Ronald W. Reagan
1970 โ Adm. Thomas J. Hamilton
1969 โ Pres. Richard M. Nixon
1968 โ Chester J. LaRoche
1967 โ Frederick L. Hovde
1966 โ Earl H. "Red" Blaik
1965 โ Juan T. Trippe
1964 โ Donold B. Lourie
1963 โ Roger M. Blough
1962 โ Byron "Whizzer" White
1961 โ Pres. John F. Kennedy
1960 โ Pres. Herbert C. Hoover
1960 โ Amos Alonzo Stagg
1959 โ Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur
1958 โ Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower
