ABOUT US
The Corrigan-Faircloth Chapter of the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame was established in 1991 by local football enthusiasts. The chapter is one of approximately 120 nationwide in 46 states with over 100,000 members. The NFF is a non-profit organization founded in 1947 by General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army Black Knights football coach Earl “Red” Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice. Its mission is to promote and develop amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and to cultivate leadership, sportsmanship, enthusiasm for competition, and the drive for academic excellence among America's youth.
The specific purpose of the Corrigan-Faircloth Chapter is to promote amateur football in the three county Triad area of North Carolina (Alamance, Forsyth and Guilford counties) primarily through the establishment of a collegiate scholarship program for graduating Triad area high school football players. These scholarships are awarded to the players who have distinguished themselves athletically and academically and are highly involved in school and community activities. This financial support is intended as an incentive for the extension of their educational pursuits. Honorees are not required to participate in intercollegiate athletics in college but must be enrolled as full-time students at an accredited college or university.
This chapter of the NFF gets its name from two prominent leaders from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), former Commissioner Gene Corrigan and former Assistant Commissioner and Supervisor of Football Officials Bradley Faircloth whose biographies can be found on this site. Both were champions for amateur athletics and in particular football.
The Corrigan-Faircloth Chapter depends upon the generosity and financial support of corporate and individual sponsors who for the past thirty years have enabled the chapter to award $759,000 in scholarships to 750 deserving student athletes. Every high school head football coach in the three-county Triad area is invited to nominate a graduating senior from his team. Recipients are selected based upon a rigorous set of criteria that considers academic excellence, football participation and achievement, and school and community involvement. A “Celebration Banquet” is held each spring to honor the young men who are selected and to recognized and thank donors who make the annual scholarships possible.
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President of the Corrigan Faircloth Chapter
Leigh Hebbard is a 1986 graduate of East Carolina University. He began his career in education at T. Wingate Andrews High School in High Point in 1987 where he was a teacher and athletic trainer. In 1993, he moved to Eastern Guilford High School where he started as an athletic trainer, served as athletic director for 12 years and then as an assistant principal from 2005 to 2008. During this time he also earned a Masters degree in School Administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In 2008 he was named director of athletics for Guilford County Schools where he stayed until retiring in 2022. In addition to his duties with Guilford County Schools, he also served as director of the NCHSAA Individual State Wrestling Tournament for 15 years and has filled the role of commissioner for several high school athletic conferences. For his work in high school athletics and with the NC High School Athletic Association he has been recognized with several awards including the: NCADA Distinguished Service Award, NCHSAA Charlie Adams Distinguished Service Award, the NCHSAA Dave Harris Athletic Director of the Year, NCHSAA Unsung Hero, and most recently the NCHSAA Jimmy Tillman Legacy Award. He has been on the Corrigan-Faircloth Chapter for several years and was selected to serve as president beginning in June of 2024.