College football is one of the most unique sporting leagues in the United States. Conference foes exist, yet there’s freedom to schedule a variety of opponents in any given year. Yet, it isn’t just the sport itself that’s unique. College football honors and awards provide validation for those participating on the gridiron. And as the sport continues to evolve, emphasis on awards takes on a greater meaning. A good example of that is the Biletnikoff Award, one that started 1994 and has now become one of the most prominent honors in college football.
College Football: Walter Manley II Has Taken the Biletnikoff Award to New Heights
Yet to know about the role and its own evolution, one must speak to one of the most interesting and accomplished men in modern United States history. That person is Walter Manley II, a founding trustee of the Biletnikoff Award. In our conversation, we discussed the award’s emergence in the college football world. We also conversed about the changes within the sport, and a litany of unique topics surrounding the Biletnikoff’s founding trustee.
Who is Walter Manley II?
I used this word a lot when speaking to Walter, but there’s truly few examples of exemplary people in recent history that span across multiple subjects and professions. However, the Tallahassee native is one of those few examples.
His Inspirations
Walter Manley II is an accomplished educator, lawyer, and philanthropist. He’s founded numerous ventures, including important non-profit causes to help both humanity and nature. In fact, there’s so many things he’s accomplished in his life thus far, it’s difficult to quantify. Yet, I asked him to take me through his mentality when pursuing (and accomplishing) numerous feats, and who inspired him to be that way.
“I was fortunate to have two parents that not only were extremely patient with me, but also who were extreme high-achievers,” began Manley. “My mother, aunt, and my father were all at University of Florida law school after the war. That’s where I was born, in Gainesville, Florida. It was very rare for women to be in law school competing with returning veterans for seats. That really inspired me, as the older I got, the more I realized that it was a pretty special thing. [Meanwhile], my father was one of the great lawyers in Florida, handling the three biggest cases in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s in the entire state.”
The Mindset of Success
Yet, while his parents pursued greatness, the fragility of life would set a cruel reminder. Walter would lose both of his parents during his 30s, implementing a mindset within him that time was short – and a lot needed to be accomplished.
“My mindset was, I was around high achievers, and I didn’t think I had very long to live. I was very surprised to hit 60 [years old]. Now I’ve hit 70, and I’m heading to 80, and hopefully will make it.”
Along with his parents, the Manley family also achieved greatness in courage, status, and the content of their character. Walter had numerous uncles serve in the world war while his great-uncles were prestigious politicians. Those first-hand accounts of heroism and achievement played a major role into developing a mindset for success.
“If there was work to be done, I didn’t turn it down,” declared Walter. “I had a certain urgency in my life that propelled these things. And the one thing I was always good at, was having the ability to identify critical success factors. That was one thing I was pretty good at. Putting together the algorithm to achieve and execute to control those key success factors. It’s something that I really enjoy and I think it’s made the organizations that I’ve been involved with a lot better. My mindset was always that I’d work as long as it took to do a really good job. And, to pursue excellence with focus and determination. Those were the things that were driven into my head at boarding school. The rules were pretty plain, but they dominated my life. It was the things that made America great. We don’t see a challenge as something that’s insurmountable. That was my mindset, and my motivation came from my family.”
Leadership at Home
For many, self success doesn’t always equal family success. There’s plenty of examples of individuals who have achieved outstanding feats that fell short in their personal lives – whether they were at fault or not. However, for Walter, his pursuit of excellence while setting careful, yet guided boundaries played an integral role in his children’s success, too.
“I don’t think I pursued greatness, I pursued excellence. And sometimes, I think I may have gotten there. But, I think the most important job you have in the world is to be a good parent. Yet, that doesn’t mean you treat them like their best friend. My children always knew I loved them because I was involved. And, I was concerned about them. I wanted them to be successful and happy in life. And, you don’t get self-esteem by existing. You get it by doing, and accomplishing things. I was always super involved with my children.”
And, he’s not lying. Walter went to all 51 national parks with his family. He spent real time with his children – helping with their homework, being an assistant homeroom teacher, so that they knew their father was around and that their life was important. And in that respect, Manley’s daughter achieved multiple academic achievements, while his son is one of (if not the) most decorated boy scout in United States history.
From the outside, Walter’s family life may not seem like a good correlation to the success of the Biletnikoff Award. However, I personally believe it’s the opposite. Someone who’s accomplished multiple feats, while consciously making time for his children shows what his priorities are. And, his children saw him prioritize his work in that same regard. It’s that mindset that’s helped him propel the Biletnikoff as one of the most prestigious awards in college sports.
“There’s sacrifices you make, and my kids saw that I made sacrifices. Hard work is really important to instill in people. If you’re focused and you’re working hard, you’re going to do some good.”
Founding the Biletnikoff Award
In today’s era of college football, the Biletnikoff Award is one of the greatest accomplishments one can achieve. However, it didn’t always start out that way. In fact, it’s one of the newer awards introduced in the sport with grand prestige. Speaking with Walter, he described how the award came to be, and how it’s managed to grow tenfold since its creation.
“In 1993-94 there were several people who were talking football awards, and one of us indicated that there was no receiver award. That was kind of the genesis of this. The thing that you know well, is that an idea is worthless unless you make something out of it. I’m sure there were a number of intelligent people [who had the same idea] but there was no driving influence that actually promulgated the establishment of that award. That’s the role that I think I played.”
An undervalued point when creating this award was Walter creating a formal banquet for the award ceremony. Originally voted against 19-1 by the trustees, Manley persisted in the event’s creation to establish the award’s validity, prestige, and proof of concept not just for the award itself, but for the non-profit sectors they were involved in.
“I was certainly the driving force over the last 33-34 years of this award … Yet the one thing I always drove into this organization is that we want to be the very best. And, it’s hard to do that when coming from a county of 280,000 people. That’s by far the most populace county within like 100 miles in any direction in Florida. And, you’re competing against other awards [in big city markets]. But we always strove for excellence.
Why Biletnikoff?
While the name of the award is commonplace now, that wasn’t always the case upon its creation. Yet, Walter understood the importance of utilizing the community to its benefit, narrowing down the options for who to name the award after to two local players.
“We needed to name the award after a local celebrity,” began Manley. “The two greatest receivers in Florida State history at that point were Ron Sellers, who played with the Cowboys … And then [the other was] Fred Biletnikoff. Fred was Florida State’s first consensus First Team All-American – he was also a great defensive back … I think it’s worked out really well [choosing Fred for the award].”
Rest assured, fans who didn’t know Fred Biletnikoff before, certainly do now. And a lot of that credit should go to Manley, who championed the wideout as the namesake for the award.
Charitable Causes
Most fans only know the Biletnikoff Award for its impact in college football. However, many don’t realize its charitable causes and contributions that it has, and the impact in its community.
“I think we’ve done a great job with the award,” said Walter discussing its charitable impact. “As far as our charitable contribution is concerned, we’re at $7 million dollars, we’ve sent 360 kids to college and about 10 kids to vocational school. We’ve done this with [just] a 280,000 population base. And, we’ve only been around for 32 years. So when you compare us to everybody, that’s pretty good … There’s some great awards, too. The Lombardi Award in Houston has been around for 56 years and they’ve given $3 million dollars to charity. We’ve doubled them, and that’s a great award.”
While Walter doesn’t expect to catch the Heisman in terms of charitable impact, he’s certainly going to keep trying. Yet perhaps more impressive, is that the Biletnikoff Award utilizes their outreach and secures growth without having a formal sponsor. Despite receiving entreaties from organizations and sponsors, the group has stayed consistent in their approach. They don’t have formal employees, either, as each member is there on a volunteer basis. And, Manley has credited that approach as an advantage when fundraising.
“The good thing about that is when we go out and raise money, we can tell people that every dime they give us is going to go to a scholarship … That’s one of our key success factors. Every dime we make from the banquet, secret auctions, direct contributions go straight into the scholarships. People know we aren’t paying a salary when we’re getting money from them.”
Scholarships, and the Importance of the Human Element
One of the more unique things I learned about Walter was that he personally has read and rated every scholarship application that has been presented to him. While it’s not uncommon for executives, trustees, or board members to do similar aspects, to take on the entirety of that process is usually unheard of. It speaks to the type of man that Manley is, and the importance of what he’s doing with the Biletnikoff.
“I have read over 4,500 applications over the last 32 years. It’s important to me because it stimulates me to go out and raise money [to give more scholarships] … This scholarship plays a huge role for these kids [who come from poor, rural, or are effected by other mitigating factors] … There was always 8-10 super deserving kids that we just didn’t have the money for [at first]. And now, we’re awarding about 16 scholarships or more per year.”
It’s not just the fundraising the plays a factor in taking on this role. It’s the stories themselves. Learning about each individual and the hardships they’re going through adds a moral and human element that can’t be ignored. And, it’s cemented to Walter why he takes so much time and pride in handling this himself.
“Reading those scholarships reinforces in me what I’m doing. It’s always important to know there’s a reason for what you’re doing. You’re not spinning your wheels wasting your time. And when you put the human equation in there, it becomes apparent.”
It’s Not Just Wide Receivers
Despite being a “wide receiver” honor, the Biletnikoff Award has also expanded as the college football game does. Tight ends and running backs have found themselves on watchlists and as finalists. It’s been a unique evolution that can really only occur with this award.
“Anybody that catches a pass is eligible for the award,” declared Manley. “We picked the right position because it’s the deepest position in football … The passing game has become so dominant in college football. It’s the great equalizer, like the three-point shot in basketball.”
The evolution of the sport has helped play a massive role in the way the Biletnikoff Award is now viewed. We’ve seen multiple high school athletes make the switch to pass-catching positions for an attempt not just to receive the award, but create longevity in their careers. Couple that with new-age media and fantasy sports prioritizing points and scoring, and it’s hard not to see why the award has exploded in popularity in recent years.
“The game has changed, and I’ll give you an example. We are allowed by ESPN to make a single tweet as soon as a winner is announced [for the award] immediately. We typically, after the Heisman, dominate in the number of views in our announcement. For example, two years ago, the Heisman had 3.3 million views when it announced its winner. We had 2.6 million when we announced ours. The next award to us had 100,000. It was also true the year before that … So, there has to be something about the receiver, that really gets the attention of sports fans. We were very lucky to do that.”
Striving for Excellence
At the end of the day, the Biletnikoff Award has proven to be one of the most prestigious honors in college football. As the sport evolves, the award has found a symbiotic relationship with it. And, while the growth has been beneficial, it hasn’t stopped the ultimate pursuit of excellence that the organization strives for.
“We always strive for excellence, and merit is the name of the game in our organization … You can’t just sit on your laurels. You have to always be trying to get better at things. That’s what we’ve always done. And we’ve got a ways to go in [some] areas. We’re not sitting down and resting on our past accomplishments.”
And with Professor Walter Manley II and others guiding the ship, it’s safe to say that the Biletnikoff Award is achieving just that.
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