Lee Roy Selmon Spirit Award Lee Roy Selmon, the first advisory board member for The Premier Players Sports Foundation, was a Collegiate and NFL Hall of Fame inductee who played his entire career for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Along with his older brothers, he helped the Oklahoma Sooners win two national titles before becoming the first player drafted by the expansion Buccaneers as well as the overall #1 pick of the 1976 NFL Draft. Even though the six-time NFL Pro Bowler had a great impact on the Buccaneers, Tampa loved Selmon even more for his impact on the community. The unselfish and very humble Selmon led multiple charities and even founded his own chain of sports restaurants to add his own culinary mark to Tampa. In addition, he helped usher in the University of South Florida football team, which is Tampa’s
only Football Bowl Subdivision team. Due to both Selmon’s prowess on and off the field, the Premier Players Sports Foundation found it fitting to name an award after him. The Lee Roy Selmon Spirit Award recognizes athletes who go above the call of a student, amateur or professional athlete by demonstrating a deep care for others and their community. After all, while it is the teams that play the game, it is the community that supports them. That’s why Lee Roy Selmon never let the game of football define who he was, he lived by faith and touched many people in special ways. Starting with the 2012 college football season, the Lee Roy Selmon Spirit Award will honor athletes who show a love for others and a connection to the moral growth of their community.