Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott to be keynote speaker at Lott Trophy banquet

Larry Scott, the innovative and highly acclaimed commissioner of the Pac-12, will be the keynote speaker at the 10th annual Lott IMPACT Trophy banquet at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach Dec. 8.

The announcement was made Wednesday by the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, sponsors of the annual award.

The Lott IMPACT Trophy goes to the college defensive player who has the biggest IMPACT on his team both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

Since its inception in 2004, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has donated more than $1 million to various charities throughout the country, including scholarship monies to the universities of the winners and finalists.

“We feel Larry Scott is the perfect speaker for our award,” John Hamilton, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the IMPACT Foundation, said in a release. “He represents one of the great college conferences in America and has overseen it with both vision and compassion.”

Previous keynote speakers at the annual Lott IMPACT Trophy banquet have included Bill Walsh, Merlin Olsen, Jack Kemp, Frank Gifford, Keith Jackson, Brent Musburger and Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

Scott became commissioner of the then Pac-10 Conference in July of 2009. He previously had served six years as Chairman and CEO of the Women’s Tennis Assn.

He led the conference through expansion for the first time since 1978 by successfully adding Colorado and Utah, created a Football Championship Game for the first time in conference history, secured agreement for equal revenue sharing for the first time ever, delivered a media rights agreement with ESPN and Fox and created the Pac-12 Network.

Scott is a former tennis All-American at Harvard, where he graduated with a degree in European History and gained a lifelong appreciation for the importance of maintaining a careful balance between academics and sports.

Tickets are on sale for the Lott Trophy banquet. Information can be found at lottimpacttrophy.org.

— From staff reports

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Previous Winners, Lott IMPACT Trophy

2004 – David Pollack, DE, Georgia

2005 – DeMeco Ryans, LB, Alabama

2006 – Dante Hughes, DB, Cal

2007 – Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU

2008 – James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State

2009 – Jerry Hughes, DE, TCU

2010 – J.J. Watt, DL, Wisconsin

2011 – Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College

2012 – Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame