Doug Williams receives President’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Doug Williams, co-founder of the Black College Football Hall of Fame and a 2011 inductee, recently received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award, the highest civilian recognition in America for service and volunteerism, was presented Aug. 9 during a ceremony at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

President George W. Bush established the award “to honor volunteers who give thousands of hours per year to helping others. That includes areas such as mental health and wellness, job readiness and creation, mentorship and program development to help communities at risk.”

A Grambling State University alum and nine-year quarterback in the National Football League, Williams was honored for the more than 4,000 hours of impactful volunteer work that has improved lives and uplifted communities across the country.

Williams was named MVP of Super Bowl XXII after becoming the first Black quarterback to start and win the Super Bowl. He and fellow Grambling State and NFL legend James “Shack” Harris, combined efforts to create the Black College Football Hall of Fame, now located inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. They also developed the Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl played in New Orleans, La.

Since the Legacy Bowl’s inception in 2022, more than 400 student-athletes were presented and exposed to NFL, Canadian Football League and United Football League scouts and draft decision-makers.

Williams and Harris also created the HBCU Legacy Bowl Career Fair that has provided hundreds of job and scholarship opportunities for HBCU students. 

The Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic, this year featuring a matchup between defending Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) champion Miles College and defending Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) champion Virginia Union University, will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton on Sunday, Aug. 31.