Fresno State Athletics
Asparuhov Named Semifinalist for Lou Groza Award
10/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 30, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State placekicker Asen Asparuhov has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the 2001 Lou Groza Award, presented annually to the nation's top placekicker. The award will be given out by the FedEx Orange Bowl during a ceremony Dec. 4 at the Sheraton West Palm Beach Hotel in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Asparuhov jumped into the national spotlight when he kicked two clutch field goals to help Fresno State defeat Colorado State on Oct. 13. His career-long 48-yarder as time expired in regulation forced overtime, and his 43-yarder in overtime sealed the Bulldogs' miraculous come from behind 25-22 victory.
On the season, the junior from Plovdiv, Bulgaria, has made 17-of-22 (.773) field goals. He is second in the nation in field goals per game (2.12) and 11th in scoring per game (9.5).
Among the 20 other placekickers named semifinalists for the award are Todd Sievers of Miami (Fla.), Damon Duval of Auburn and Travis Dorsch of Purdue. A brief biography of each semifinalist can be found at www.palmbeachsports.com/Groza.
The website also features a special interactive online voting section. This feature allows anyone to vote for whom they think should win the Lou Groza Award. The online voting feature is purely for fun and has no influence on the actual voting for the award.
The voters for the Lou Groza Award are comprised of all Division I head coaches, sports writers and sportscasters from across the country, conference officials, various NFL kickers and all previous Lou Groza Award winners.
The three finalists for the Lou Groza Award will be announced Nov. 12.
The award, now in its 10th year, is named for NFL Hall of Fame kicker Lou Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Groza won four NFL championships with Cleveland and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Nicknamed "The Toe," Groza was one of the first people to truly make kicking an art form and he helped usher into football the idea that a player could be used exclusively for kicking.
The Lou Groza Award is sponsored by AvMed Public Health, Befitting Just Your Style, The Breakers Hotel, Community Savings, Continental Airlines, ESPN, Florida Coca-Cola Bottling, Palm Beach Kennel Club, The Palm Beach Post, Parallax Productions, Rooney's Public House, Sheraton West Palm Beach at CityPlace, Topline Printing and WPEC News Channel 12.
For more information regarding the Lou Groza Award, please go to www.palmbeachsports.com, or call the Palm Beach County Sports Commission at (561) 233-1015.
2001 Lou Groza Award Semifinal List
- Asen Asparuhov, Fresno State
- Steve Azar, Northern Illinois
- Mike Barth, Arizona State
- Vladimir Borombozin, New Mexico
- Peter Christofilakos, Illinois
- Zac Derr, Akron
- Travis Dorsch, Purdue
- Drew Dunning, Washington State
- Damon Duval, Auburn
- Todd France, Toledo
- Brad Hammerich, Missouri
- Kevin Kerr, Ohio
- Seth Marler, Tulane
- Kevin Miller, East Carolina
- Luke Phillips, Oklahoma State
- Brendon Rauh, West Virginia
- Josh Scobee, Louisiana Tech
- Nick Setta, Notre Dame
- Todd Sievers, Miami (Fla.)
- Jarvis Wallum, Wyoming
