Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011

NORTHBROOK, Ill.--Drake's Stoy Hall is among the 22 student-athletes named today by Allstate Insurance Company (NYSE:ALL) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) to the 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, one of the most prestigious off-the field honors in college football. For 20 years the award has recognized a select group of college football players committed to making a difference in their communities.

Hall is the first Drake Bulldog to be named to the Good Works Team since the program was introduced in 1992. He will travel to New Orleans in January for the 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl, where the Good Works Team will participate in a community service project and be introduced at halftime of the Sugar Bowl.

• Vote for Stoy Hall to be Captain of the 2011 Good Works Team!

A program record 132 players were nominated for the award this summer.  From the nominations, a special voting panel, including former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members and current college football broadcasters, selected 22 players from across the country to the team.  Of the two 11-member teams, one comprises players competing in the NCAA^® Football Bowl Subdivision and the other is a combined team representing the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III, and the NAIA.

"For two decades this award has represented one of the great aspects of college football by shining a spotlight on the community involvement of its student-athletes," said Mark LaNeve, Allstate executive vice president, marketing & sales operations, who also serves on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team^® voting panel. "Allstate is proud to partner with the AFCA to present and grow awareness around this award and continues to be inspired by the commitment and dedication of its recipients."

Hall has been the unquestioned leader of the Bulldogs football team's exemplary work in the community. He holds a coveted spot as one of Drake Football's Community Service Captains, and has spearheaded the Bulldogs Boys & Girls Clubs Community Service efforts in recent years. Outside of that Drake-related involvement with Boys and Girls Clubs, Hall on his own has worked at the Clubs for the past two summers and volunteered his time beyond the scope of the team's involvement each year.

Additionally, Hall has worked to create a mentor program at the Boys and Girls Clubs that helps kids learn to read, and has organized reading programs in several elementary schools. He also has organized groups of teammates each spring to join him on a Boys and Girls Club visit and has taken the blueprint for his Boys & Girls Clubs reading program to Des Moines metro high schools, working with students and helping them toward graduation by raising their levels to standard high school levels.

On top of that dedicated involvement, Hall is a leader among players in organizing the events of the Drake football team's annual Youth Day and has volunteered countless hours during summers to work with kids at the Bulldogs' annual football camps and clinics.

On Drake's May 2011 trip to Tanzania to perform service projects, climb Kilimanjaro and play the first American football game on African soil, Hall was heavily involved in assisting Dr. Steve Meyer of Siouxland Tanzania Educational and Medical Ministries (STEMM) with the opening of STEMM's orphanage, the STEMM Children's Village.

"Stoy is a Community Service Captain on our football team because he genuinely cares about other people and truly wants to give back and make a difference," said Creighton. "Weekly visits throughout the year to the local Boys and Girls Club was not a part of our overall community service plan as a program but basically Stoy insisted and literally took over both the organization and implementation of these regular visits. Stoy also was one of our players who immediately saw the vision for what our trip to Africa could be. He worked extremely hard to raise money so that our team could make the trip."

Hall was projected as a starting linebacker and long-snapper before an offseason injury, but has continued to be part of the team's daily and weekly preparation and still serves in a leadership role that is significant to the team.

The following players have been selected to the 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team^®:

Equally as remarkable as the service contributions of Allstate AFCA Good Works Teams of the past, this year's roster boasts an impressive list of credentials promoting service and volunteerism. From donating bone marrow to a cancer patient to mentoring children home and abroad to playing the piano for hospital patients, the selfless acts of these 22 student-athletes prove that tackles and touchdowns do not have to come at the expense of greatness off the field.

"The tremendous community service activities these young student-athletes participate in is exceptional," said Grant Teaff, Executive Director of the American Football Coaches Association. "These 22 student-athletes have sacrificed their personal time in an attempt to make their communities a better place. We couldn't be more proud to have these players make up the 20th Allstate AFCA Good Works Team^®. We are also proud to be partnered with Allstate in recognizing these outstanding student-athletes."

Fans will be able to vote for an Allstate AFCA Good Works Team^® Captain by visiting ESPN.com and searching "Good Works". By viewing the player profiles on the website, fans can learn more about this year's team members and their selfless acts of kindness. The Team Captain and his fellow award recipients will be invited to New Orleans to take part in a special volunteer project leading up to the 2012 Allstate^® Sugar Bowl^®. 

The 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team^® voting panel includes several former Good Works Team members including former University of Pittsburgh quarterback Alex Van Pelt, former University of Georgia offensive lineman Matt Stinchcomb and former University of Notre Dame defensive lineman Grant Irons. ESPN personalities Lou Holtz, who also serves as the national ambassador for the program, and Rece Davis are also a part of the voting panel, joined by current AFCA president and Montana State University Head Coach Rob Ash, 1987 AFCA President and former Brigham Young University Head Coach LaVell Edwards and Allstate executive vice president Mark LaNeve. 

To celebrate the 20^th year of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team^®, Allstate has partnered with college sports website LostLettermen.com to host a series of Q&A interviews with Good Works Team^® alumni during the 2011 season. To learn more about these past award recipients and where they are now, visit LostLettermen.com and click on the "Allstate" tab.

About Allstate

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer known for its "You're In Good Hands With Allstate^®" slogan. Now celebrating its 80th anniversary as an insurer, Allstate is reinventing protection and retirement to help nearly 16 million households insure what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow. Consumers access Allstate insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and services through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial representatives in the U.S. and Canada, as well as via www.allstate.com and 1-800 Allstate^®.

About the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team^®

The Allstate AFCA Good Works Teams^® were established in 1992 by the College Football Association, recognizing the extra efforts made by college football players and student support staff off the field.  AFCA became the governing body of the award in 1997 and continues to honor college football players who go the extra mile for those in need. Allstate partnered to present the award starting with the 2008 season.

Since 1992, the Southeastern Conference leads all conferences with 54 selections to the Good Works Teams^®, followed by the Big 12 with 40 selections and the Atlantic Coast Conference with 29 selections. With Aron White's selection this year, Georgia moves into first place with 13 honorees to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The Bulldogs are followed by Nebraska and St. Thomas (Minn.) with 12 honorees each. Super Bowl XLII and XLI champion quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning were members of the 2002 and 1997 Good Works Teams, respectively.

About AFCA

The AFCA was founded in 1922 and currently has more than 11,000 members around the world ranging from the high school level to the professional ranks. According to its constitution, the AFCA was formed, in part, to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and in the coaching profession" and to "provide a forum for the discussion and study of all matters pertaining to football."