Indiana University of Pennsylvania Athletics

Jack Ferguson is the 2007 recipient of the Bellringer Award, recognizing the annual honorary award winner.

Proof of Jack Ferguson's loyalty to IUP athletics was illustrated two decades ago when the former semipro football player turned down tickets to one of the biggest football games in the country.

Back in the late 1980s, Ferguson was invited by his friend, Dr. Gerald O'Connor, the doctor for the University of Michigan football team, to attend the Wolverines game at Notre Dame.

But in an act of true loyalty to his beloved school, Ferguson declined tickets to the big game in favor of attending an IUP football game that same Saturday.
"Dr. O'Connor was upset that I couldn't go to the Michigan-Notre Dame game," Ferguson said recently. "He couldn't understand why I didn't want to go, but I told him that it was more important to go to the IUP football game."

Since then, Ferguson's loyal support of IUP athletics has continued with his establishment of the Nancy L. Ferguson Memorial Scholarship in memory of his wife. The scholarship provides financial assistance to IUP football players who are offensive linemen.

The funds donated through the years have helped IUP maintain one of the best offensive lines in the PSAC, and the past two seasons Rory Thomas and Jim O'Rourke have received scholarship aid.

Ferguson spent only one season at IUP (1957-58) and was a member of the football and wrestling teams. A gritty 177 -pounder, Ferguson played offensive guard and nose tackle on the gridiron and was third at the PSAC wrestling championships.

After leaving IUP, Ferguson joined the Petersburg Vikings of the semipro Midwest Football League from 1962-67. In his first season playing for the Dearborn, Mich., based team, Ferguson was voted the team's most valuable lineman.

A Blairsville native, Ferguson retired in 1992 from the chemical company BASF, where he was a senior research technician. Since returning to his hometown area, he has been a volunteer at the Indiana Regional Medical Center and a contributor to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

Ferguson and his late wife, Nancy, are the parents of sons Jack and Darryl.

The IUP Athletic Hall of Fame annually bestows the Bellringer Award to an honorary award recipient who exhibits exemplary support and service to the university in some capacity.