Brick Memorial Football Grad Receives National Service Award; Now, He Needs Your Help

A football player from Brick Township is one of 22 college players from around the nation being honored for the work they do off the field.

Phil Faccone, a Brick Memorial graduate who is the long snapper for Wagner College, has been named to the 2014 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, announced Tuesday by the Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association.

The award recognizes and pays tribute to student-athletes who have worked to positively impact the lives of others. The 22 players honored with this distinct recognition have not only dedicated their time to succeeding on the field, but have made a commitment to enriching the lives of others while contributing to the greater good of their communities.

From among these 22 players, who will be honored at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, a team captain will be chosen based on fan voting. Faccone needs your help to receive the team captain honor. Go to espn.com/allstate to cast your vote. The players also will participate in a community service project in New Orleans leading up to the game, according to a news release on the award. The Sugar Bowl is one of the two national college football playoff semifinal games this year in the first year of the playoff system.

Faccone, a senior at Wagner who is a three-year starter and two-time all-America selection, holds a 3.74 GPA whole majoring on sociology with a minor in government/politics. His community service resume is lengthy, according to a news release from Wagner: He has directed and-or participated in a host of several community service initiatives, including Wagner’s Annual Bone Marrow Registry Drive and the Crescent Beach Restoration Project, which aids one of the many Staten Island communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, to name just a few. In June, Faccone took part in Lauren’s First and Goal Camp (LFG) at Lafayette College, a non-profit organization started in 2004 by John and Marianne Loose in honor of their daughter, Lauren, a 17-year-old pediatric brain tumor survivor. Since its inception, LFG has raised more than $1 million toward its mission to provide financial support for brain tumor research and cancer services.

Faccone serves as vice president of Community Service for Wagner College’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a committee comprised of student- athletes assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience. He also recently was elected president of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society that recognizes achievement in a myriad of areas (scholarship, athletics, campus or community service, social or religious activities and campus government, journalism, speech and the mass media, and creative and performing arts). In addition, Faccone is secretary of the Wagner College chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Faccone was chosen from among 182 players nominated by colleges and universities throughout the country for the award, which honors the 22 players -- 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and 11 from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the NAIA.

“This is a tremendous honor and a surreal moment to think that I’m one of just 22 football players from around the country to be on this team,” Faccone said. “A lot of my teammates have spent so much time taking part in various community service projects, and making them successful, so, I have to thank them. And I owe big thank you to Coach Steve Ciocci for being such a great mentor and role model when it comes to community service.”

Faccone is the second Wagner player to receive the Good Works award; Ciocci, currently an assistant coach for the Seahawks, received the award as a player in 2012.

“This is obviously an outstanding honor for Phil and we’re just so proud of him and all of the things he has accomplished with respect to community service,” said Walt Hameline, Wagner’s athletic director and its head football coach. ”He’s really among elite company. To have Steve (Ciocci) on the team two years ago, and now Phil, it’s truly a special thing for Wagner College and our football program.”

“Allstate takes an immense amount of pride in working with the AFCA to recognize these student-athletes for their good works that have made a positive impact on communities across the country and, in some cases, across the world,” said Jim Haskins, president of Allstate’s West Territory and a member of the 2014 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team voting panel. “It is an honor to award these young men for inspiring us all with their character and work ethic both on and off the field.”

Learn more about all of the honorees at espn.com/allstate.

The 2014 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team voting panel includes: former Good Works Team® members Zaid Abdul-Aleem (Duke, 1994 team), Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia, 1997, 1998 teams), Brian Brenberg (St. Thomas, 2001 team), Mike Proman (Amherst, 2002 team); media members Lou Holtz (ESPN), Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN), Bruce Feldman (Fox Sports), Blair Kerkhoff (Kansas City Star); current AFCA President and Ithaca College head coach Mike Welch; 1987 AFCA President and former head coach at Brigham Young University LaVell Edwards; and Jim Haskins, president of Allstate’s West Territory. 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 worked to present the award starting with the 2008 season.