Stats Perform to Present The FCS National Awards

LONDON, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The FCS National Awards, which honor the best of the best in college football's Division I subdivision, will be handed out Friday night, Jan. 7 at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Presentation at the Frisco Embassy Suites & Convention Center in Frisco, Texas.

Stats Perform is one of the nation's leading sources for FCS news content and data, and has presented the Walter Payton, Buch Buchanan, Jerry Rice, Eddie Robinson and Doris Robinson awards since 2015.

Highlighting the annual event will be the announcements of the Walter Payton and Buck Buchanan awards, presented to the FCS offensive and defensive players of the year, respectively.

The 35^th Payton Award will come from one of three players out of 25 finalists who were invited to the presentation, quarterbacks Eric Barriere of Eastern Washington and Cole Kelley of Southeastern Louisiana, and ETSU running back Quay Holmes. Kelley is looking to win his second straight Payton Award. In that same 2020 season, Barriere was the runner-up and Holmes finished 13^th.

On the defensive side of the ball, the 27^th Buchanen Award has come down to linebackers Troy Andersen of national finalist Montana State and Patrick O'Connell of Montana, and defensive end/linebacker Isaiah Land of Florida A&M.

The winners of the other three FCS legacy awards were announced previously, including College and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as the Eddie Robinson Award recipient for national coach of the year. He led Jackson State to a school-record 11 wins and the program's first Southwestern Athletic Conference title since 2007.

Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion's son, won the Jerry Rice Award for national freshman of the year. Southern Illinois offensive lineman ZeVeyon Furcron received the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, given to a student-athlete who excels not only in the classroom, but in the community and beyond.

"Given the unprecedented year FCS student-athletes have been through, it's particularly gratifying to celebrate their resiliency and excellence this week," said Brian Orefice, Stats Perform's vice president of global operations. "We're thrilled to be backed by the star power of football Hall of Famers and award namesakes to help continue to shine a bright light on stories of the subdivision, big and small."

The national awards presentation will begin airing Saturday, Jan. 8 on Bally Sports Regional Networks, with former Northwestern State All-American and two-time Super Bowl-winning linebacker Gary Reasons serving as the host. There will be over 250 airings over Bally regional and affiliate networks.

FCS National Awards – Bally Sports Initial Air Dates
While all networks will have multiple airings, please consult local listings for respective network territories.
Bally Sports Arizona: Saturday, Jan. 8 (5 p.m. MT)
Bally Sports Detroit: Saturday, Jan. 8 (midnight ET)
Bally Sports Florida: Saturday, Jan. 8 (11 p.m. ET)
Bally Sports Midwest (Kansas & Nebraska only): Saturday, Jan. 8 (5:30 p.m. CT)
Bally Sports Midwest (all states in region): Sunday, Jan. 9 (10 a.m. CT)
Bally Sports North: Sunday, Jan. 9 (noon CT)
Bally Sports Ohio: Saturday, Jan. 8 (5 p.m. ET)
Bally Sports South (Georgia, North Carolina & South Carolina): Saturday, Jan. 8 (10 p.m. ET)
Bally Sports South (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee): Saturday, Jan. 8 (10 p.m. CT)
Bally Sports Southwest (Dallas area only): Saturday, Jan. 8 (6 p.m. CT)
Bally Sports Southwest (All other areas in region): Saturday, Jan. 8 (8 p.m. CT)
Bally Sports Sun: Saturday, Jan. 8 (11 p.m. ET)
Bally Sports West: Saturday, Jan. 8 (8 p.m. PT)
Bally Sports Wisconsin: Saturday, Jan. 8 (4 p.m. CT)
MASN2: Saturday, Jan. 8 (5 p.m.)
MSG Plus: Saturday, Jan. 8 (5 p.m. ET)
Marquee Sports Network: Monday, Jan. 10 (2 p.m. CT)

SOURCE Stats Perform