ABOVE VIDEO:Doug Flutie won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award in college, won Pro Bowl and NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors and was voted the best CFL player of all time.
Football Great, Philanthropist Joins University
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – The Florida Institute of Technology announced on Thursday that Doug Flutie has been named to the university’s Board of Trustees.
Raised in nearby Melbourne Beach, Flutie played 12 seasons in the National Football League, eight seasons in the Canadian Football League and one season in the United States Football League.
He was a six-time CFL Most Outstanding Player Award recipient, a six-time CFL All-Star, named NFL Comeback Player of the Year and played in the 1999 Pro Bowl.
Dr. Anthony J. Catanese
“Doug is a tremendous community leader and philanthropist,” said Florida Tech President and CEO Anthony J. Catanese.
“His perspective will be very valuable to our university. We deeply appreciate his service.”
Flutie won three Grey Cup Championships in the CFL and was selected MVP in each of the championship games.
In 2006, he was voted the best CFL player of all time by The Sports Network (TSN). He is a member of the Canadian Football, Canada’s Sports and College Football halls of fame. Flutie was also inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame last May.
Flutie is famously known for his Hail Mary pass that led Boston College to a 47-45 victory over the defending national champions, the University Miami, in 1984.
Doug Flutie was the keynote speaker at the second Florida Tech “Inside the Huddle” banquet in 2013. (Amanda Stratford image)
He received several awards for his performance that season, including the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Maxwell Award. He went on to graduate from Boston College with degrees in communications and computer science.
Following his playing career, he has served as a color analyst and in-studio analyst for ABC, ESPN College Football and NBC. Most recently, he serves as an analyst for NBC Sports.
Flutie remains active in the community with the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism named after his son, who was diagnosed with autism at three years old.
Its primary objective is to provide families with a place to turn when they are in need of support and autism resources.
Doug Flutie and his wife Laurie started raising funds for autism in 1998 and established the foundation in 2000. Since 1998, they have helped raise over $15 million for autism. (SpaceCoastDaily.com image)
Doug and his wife Laurie started raising funds for autism in 1998 and established the foundation in 2000. Since 1998, they have helped raise over $15 million for autism.
The Foundation, in partnership with Hewlett Packard, has also donated hundreds of computers to underprivileged families of children with autism and their school districts in New England and New York.
Flutie was selected a 2010 Central Florida Humanitarian by Space Coast Medicine & Active Living magazine for his work with the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.
Raised in nearby Melbourne Beach, Flutie played 12 seasons in the National Football League, eight seasons in the Canadian Football League and one season in the United States Football League.
