BTN LiveBIG: Archie Griffin's Heisman legacy

Tonight, college football?s most elite club will welcome a new member when the winner of the 2013 Heisman Trophy is named.

On December 9, 1935, the University of Chicago?s Jay Berwanger was awarded the first Heisman Trophy. In the 78 years that followed, only one man won the award twice: Ohio State running back Archie Griffin.

Griffin followed a stellar college career with seven years in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals. However, according to Griffin, winning two Heismans and rushing for more than 2,800 yards in the NFL aren?t his greatest accomplishments.

Griffin founded the Archie Griffin Scholarship Fund because of the education and experiences afforded to him at The Ohio State University. The fund creates scholarship opportunities for high school student-athletes, but not for future Heisman trophy winners; it supports students who participate in Olympic sports instead.

Football is the largest revenue-generating sport at most universities, and Ohio State is no different. But other sports - for men and women - don?t have the ability to sell 100,000 tickets for Saturday home games.

So Griffin created an endowment to help keep Olympic sports going strong. Through an annual golf outing and other events throughout the year, Griffin raises money to support students as they pursue their dreams - academically and athletically.

As the newest member of the Heisman club is named this evening, the only two-time recipient of the award will once again receive plenty of attention for his exploits on the field for the Buckeyes. But his efforts to help athletes that aren?t on the gridiron every Saturday continues to make an impact on students in Columbus, Ohio.

For more information about the Archie Griffin Scholarship Fund, go to: http://archiegriffinscholarshipfund.org.