Dat Nguyen of Texas A&M Wins 29th Rotary Lombardi Award
Dec 08, 1998 | Football
December 08, 1998
Three days after his Aggies upset top-ranked Kansas State to throw a monkey wrench into the BCS rankings, Texas A&M linebacker Dat Nguyen was named the recipient of the 29th annual Rotary Lombardi Award at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Houston. The Lombardi Award is handed out annually to the nation's top lineman in a black-tie dinner that has raised more than $2.25 million for the American Cancer Society.
Nguyen, the all-time leading tackler in Texas A&M history, became the first Aggie and just the fourth student-athlete ever from the state of Texas to win an award which has been handed out annually in Houston since 1970. In 13 games this season, the 5-11, 221-pound linebacker has 147 tackles. For his four-year career, Nguyen (pronounced 'WIN') has 517 stops.
Nguyen beat out a distinguished trio of fellow student-athletes to win the Lombardi Award. The other three finalists were senior offensive tackle Aaron Gibson of Wisconsin, junior linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer of Ohio State and senior offensive tackle Matt Stinchcomb of Georgia. All but Stinchcomb were in Houston for the announcement (Stinchcomb was in New York receiving an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship from the College Football Hall of Fame).
The Lombardi Award is handed out to a deserving candidate for performance and ability on the field, but equally important in the voting process is a student-athlete who best exemplifies the discipline of the award's namesake, Vince Lombardi. Nguyen's discipline and faith has allowed him to overcome a lifetime of obstacles and reach one of college football's greatest honors.
The obstacles for Nguyen began before he was even born. Dat's parents fled a war-torn Vietnam in 1975 with his five older brothers and sisters and a sixth child (Dat) on the way. Born in Arkansas, Nguyen and his family moved to Rockport, Texas where they overcame social and financial hardships to create a successful restaurant and fishing business. Athletically, Nguyen's career also has been handicapped by the so-called experts who said he was too small or slow to exceed at the highest levels.
Yet despite the odds, Nguyen has become one of the most prolific tacklers in NCAA history. The only player in Texas A&M's storied defensive history to lead the team in tackles four straight years, he has started all 50 of his games for Texas A&M and helped the Aggies to two Big-12 South titles, two nine-win seasons and a 1999 appearance in the Sugar Bowl against Ohio State. He also excels in the classroom, receiving a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Development last August, and is currently attending graduate school at A&M.
A throwback to the days when Vince Lombardi was coaching, Dat Nguyen's rags-to-riches success story has earned him the Rotary Lombardi Award for 1998.
