Back during his freshman year, Connor Hughes ‘23 began working with the Lombardi Award as a part of the internship requirement of Rice's Sport Management Practicum class (SMGT 276). Now, less than five years later, Hughes serves as Co-Chair of Lombardi Award ceremony scheduled for Dec. 11, 2024.
The Lombardi Award was established in 1970 by the Rotary Club of Houston in memory of Vince Lombardi, the legendary head coach of the Green Bay Packers. The award is presented to the "Outstanding College Football Lineman, whether on offense or defense, who displays exceptional performance and ability and embodies the character and discipline that Vince Lombardi championed throughout his life." The Lombardi Award, in its 51st year, donates all net proceeds to cancer research, where they have raised millions of dollars.
“It’s just a really neat organization to be a part of, as well as associated with the Rotary Club of Houston,” Hughes said. “That’s such an impactful organization to be a part of in Houston.”
As a freshman, Hughes said he struggled to keep up with all of the responsibilities he had as an intern with the award, but by the time he was an upperclassman, he figured out how to run the ship better and be more valuable to the organization. Now, instead of balancing his Lombardi Award responsibilities with Rice coursework, he balances it with his job as an Associate Distribution Coordinator at Enterprise Products. He credits Rice with helping him manage his time between both.
“Connor did so well as a freshman, they asked him to come back the next year and it seemed like every year he took on more responsibilities,” said Tom Stallings, Sport Management Professor in the Practice and Director of Career Development. "Connor’s ability to make himself irreplaceable is what set him apart."
Stallings sends young Rice students to help out with the Houston-based event each year, whether it’s in planning, manning registration tables or working that night’s auction.
“At Rice, we pride ourselves on offering as many experiences to our students as possible. The Lombardi Award ceremony is a prestigious event so it makes perfect sense for our department to be involved,” Stallings said. “I believe one of the things that differentiates students that turn a volunteer experience or an internship into a bigger opportunity are the ones that don't just go in and do what they're told. That's the bare minimum. You're supposed to do your job. The ones that get most out of their experiences are the ones who seek to learn as much as possible and volunteer to do things that aren't part of their job. They do everything they can to enhance the organization they work for beyond the minimum expectations. Connor is an example of someone who did that.”
During the 2024 college football preseason, Hughes worked to source and identify the top lineman from all 140 FBS teams. After the watch list was agreed upon, which involved a lot of discussion and taking many opinions into account, Hughes helped update voter information and send the list to the voters. Now Hughes is looking forward to meeting this year’s group of finalists.
“I think there's probably going to be some really neat guys that I have the opportunity to talk to, get to know a little bit better, so that's really cool,” Hughes said. “That's always something I look forward to.”
This year when Stallings sends students to help out at the event, the Rice graduate, who Stallings uses as an example, will be running the show.
“Students like Connor are the examples that inspire the other students,” Stallings said. “It seems like every year we have more and more trailblazers open up opportunities for the students that follow.”
Kathleen Ortiz, a junior from Kingwood, Texas, is studying Social Policy Analysis and Sport Management with a concentration in Sport Law.