Kalani Sitake honored with national award winners at Maxwell Football Club Gala in Atlanta

ATLANTA — As the 2025 recipient of the Buddy Teevens Award, BYU head football coach Kalani Sitake was honored along with other national award winners from the NFL, college and high school ranks at the 89th annual Maxwell Football Club National Awards Gala conducted for the first time at the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta.

Sitake was one of 18 award winners honored during the Gala on Saturday night that was emceed by College Football Hall of Fame Syracuse quarterback Don McPherson. 

Sitake, who was announced in December as the winner of the 2025 Buddy Teevens Award by Eli Manning during the 35th annual ESPN College Football Awards Show, was introduced at Saturday's Maxwell Awards Gala via video by Peyton Manning. Established by the Archie Manning family in 2024 and presented by the Maxwell Football Club in conjunction with the National Football Foundation, the Buddy Teevens Award is named in honor of the late legendary Dartmouth College football coach Buddy Teevens to recognize outstanding achievement on the field and exceptional leadership that leaves a lasting impact on players, coaches and the game of football at large. 

"Coach Sitake is the perfect steward of Buddy's legacy," said Peyton Manning while introducing Sitake. "I know Buddy would be very proud of all the work coach does on and, especially, off the field."

Sitake, who was also named the 2025 Chuck Neinas Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, guided BYU to a 12-2 record and No. 11 final ranking this past season to give the Cougars a 23-4 record over the past two seasons. Under Sitake’s leadership, BYU continues to operate with the consistency, culture and confidence of a team built to contend for a long time on the national stage.

"Coach Buddy Teevens stood for everything great in our profession," said Sitake while also thanking those who assist him in his role at BYU and praising the award winners in attendance for their great accomplishments. "Buddy's commitment to innovation, combined with his love for his players and care for their safety and the mentoring he gave them, he gave young people the lessons and principles that will expand and extend beyond the football field. It's an honor for me to be connected to his legacy. This is truly special for me."

Other award winners honored during the Maxwell Awards Gala included the following:

• Curt Cignetti, Indiana head coach (George Munger Award)
• Fernando Mendoza, Indiana quarterback (Maxwell Award)
• Jacob Rodriquez, Texas Tech linebacker (Chuck Bednarik Award)
• Julian Sayin, Ohio State quarterback (Shaun Alexander Award)
• Blake Horvath, Naval Academy quarterback (Inaugural Maxwell Military Service Academy Leadership Award & CSC Division I Academic All-American Team Member of the Year)
• Jack Strand, Minnesota State University Moorhead quarterback (CSC Division II Academic All-American Team Member of the Year)
• Robby Ballentine, DePauw University wide receiver (CSC Division III Academic All-American Team Member of the Year)
• Zachary Myers, Evangel University defensive end (CSC NAIA Academic All-American Team Member of the Year)
• Eddie George, former Ohio State and NFL running back and current Bowling Green State head coach (MFC Legends Award)
• Doug-Williams, former Grambling State and NFL quarterback and current Grambling State head coach (Maxwell HBCU Award)
• Danny Wuerffel, former Florida and NFL quarterback (Francis J. "Reds" Bagnell Award)
• John Abraham, former South Carolina and NFL defensive end (Inaugural Herschel Walker Award)
• Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears head coach (Earle "Greasy" Neale Award)
• Drake Maye, New England Patriots quarterback (Bert Bell Award)
• Joe O'Brien, LaSalle College High School (Jim Henry Award)
• Matt Sieg, Fort Cherry High School (Maxwell National High School Player of the Year Award)
• Kiera Quinn, Gwynedd Mercy Academy (Maxwell National High School Girls Flag Football Player of the Year Award)

Maxwell Football Club President Mark Dianno welcomed and addressed those in attendance for the formal festivities hosted at the Coca-Cola Roxy live entertainment venue located in Atlanta's Battery District that includes Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. During the evening, time was also dedicated to pay tribute to the contributions of College Football Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz, who recently passed away on March 4, 2026, at the age of 89. 

MORE ABOUT THE BUDDY TEEVENS AWARD
The Teevens Award was established in 2024 by the Archie Manning family to honor their long-time friendship with Coach Teevens, who passed away in 2023. The annual award is presented by the Maxwell Football Club in conjunction with the National Football Foundation.

“Universally loved and admired, Buddy connected with everyone who crossed his path,” said Archie Manning. “He mentored thousands of players and assistant coaches during his 44 years on the sidelines, and his passion for the game led him to become an innovator and pioneer in making the game safer for future generations as well as hiring women in coaching positions. Buddy was a great coach but more than that he was just a great guy who wanted to make the game better for all.”

A head football coach for more than 30 years, including two stints at Dartmouth equaling 22 years in total, Teevens, launched his head coaching career at Maine from 1985-86. He landed the top job at his alma mater in 1987, beginning his first tour with the Big Green, which ran from 1987-91 and included a share of the Ivy League title in 1990 and the outright crown the following year. He left Hanover for the top jobs at Tulane (1992-1996) and Stanford (2002-04) with stops in between as an assistant at Illinois (1997-98) and Florida (1999-2001) under Hall of Fame coach Steve Spurrier.

He returned to head the Big Green program in 2005, leading the team to a share of the Ivy League crown in 2015, 2019, and 2021. While at Dartmouth, Teevens was honored as the New England Coach of the Year three times, in 1990, 2015, and 2019, and Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021. All told, he led Dartmouth to five conference titles and a 117-101-2 record, including 83-70-1 in the Ivy League, making him the Big Green’s all-time winningest coach.

The Buddy Teevens Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.

MORE ABOUT THE MAXWELL FOOTBALL CLUB
The Maxwell Football Club was founded in 1935 and is the oldest football organization of its kind in America. The Club recognizes excellence in performance at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels of the game. The Maxwell Club is also deeply involved and fully vested in the community through programs to promote academic excellence, community volunteerism, and leadership. High school student-athletes around the country have an opportunity to participate in MFC leadership events, free of charge, through the generosity of our corporate partners, the NFL Foundation, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Coca-Cola Roxy, College Sports Communicators, Kirkland Printing, Omaha Productions, Quinco, The Seiler Group at Raymond James, the ETC Foundation, Vertical Raise, and SRA Inc. To learn more about the MFC story or the annual MFC Awards Gala, visit maxwellfootballclub.org.