PHOENIX, AZ (January 27, 2025) – The National Quarterback Club (NQBC) announced today that philanthropist Stevie Eller will receive the 2024 Legacy Recognition Award™. The award will be presented during the 2024 National Quarterback Club Awards Dinner and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on February 28, 2025, at The Caesars Republic beginning with a reception at 5:00 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m.
 
The ceremony will also include honors for the National Quarterback of the Year in high school, college and professional ranks. Marlin Briscoe, Carson Palmer and Steve Spurrier will be inducted into the National Quarterback Club Hall of Fame.
 
For more information about the National Quarterback Club, the awards dinner, and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony visit www.nationalqbclub.com or www.fiestabowl.org/NQBC. A limited number of media credentials can be reserved by emailing info@nationalqbclub.com.
 
"Contributions to enhancing the game of football come from many different places, from quarterbacks on the field and those who serve and help elevate the game off of it. Stevie Eller and her late husband Karl have been change agents for more than 50 years to help the game achieve its popularity," said Don Kile, NQBC president. "Stevie is the epitome of what it means when someone speaks the words 'give back to the community.' The Legacy Recognition Award™ honors this incredible woman and serves as an inspiration that if you can dream it, you can achieve it."
 
"Making a difference has always been a cornerstone of the way that Karl and I lived our lives, in the business world, in philanthropy or through sports. We had such a passion for Arizona and worked vigorously to elevate all that this great state has to offer," said Eller. "Supporting our beloved Wildcats and bringing the Fiesta Bowl and professional sports teams to Arizona has been an absolute dream and is more than we ever could have imagined."
 
About Stevie Eller – Scottsdale, Arizona
When you look at how Arizona has become a sports metropolis, the roots of that history trace back to the name "Eller."
 
Starting a life together as undergraduate students at University of Arizona, Stevie and Karl Eller forged a relationship that blazed trails in Arizona and nationally. Karl Eller headed four billion-dollar companies, including Columbia Pictures, Gannett, Circle K and his own billboard company, Eller Media, over an illustrious business career.
 
The family's impact on the sporting landscape in the desert is equally impressive. Stevie and Karl were influential founders of the Fiesta Bowl, which was formed in 1971 and hosted a college football national championship only 15 seasons into existence to highlight the 1986-87 season. The Fiesta Bowl remains a major player in college football's postseason and has been home to many of college football's most memorable moments. Avid fans and contributors to University of Arizona Athletics, the Ellers helped usher UofArizona and Arizona State University into the Pac-8 in 1978.
 
In addition, they were founding investors and owners in forming the Phoenix Suns in 1968, were key players in the NFL Cardinals move to Arizona in 1988 and brought professional hockey to the state by moving a team from Canada and re-naming them the Phoenix Roadrunners.

That influx of sports activity led to Arizona being home to College Football National Championship games, Super Bowls, NCAA Final Fours, NBA All-Star Games and Finals, Major League Baseball World Baseball Classics, international soccer and more.
 
Off the field, influencing Arizona's communities was Eller's game. The family actively donated and created programs for the University of Arizona's business school and college of fine arts and dance. The Stevie Eller Theatre and Eller College of Management are nationally recognized for their excellence.
 
Honored as an Arizona Historymaker, Stevie Eller chaired the Arizona Centennial Celebration for the state's 100^th anniversary in 2012 and she was appointed by Presidents Reagan, Bush and Bush to serve on commissions that served the arts and international relations.

Stevie and Karl Eller were married in 1952 and are the proud parents of daughter Elissa and son Scott, in addition to six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

About the Legacy Recognition Award™
The Legacy Recognition Award™ is a national award presented annually to a person who stands fast in his or her community to meet the needs of the community. The award is not exclusive to football quarterbacks, players or coaches, but the characteristics of great leadership are present in recipients of the award since its inception in 1985. Previous recipients include names like Ross Perot (1986), General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. (1992), Warrick Dunn (2005), Jim Kelly (2018), Ken Stabler (2018), Bill Shover (2019), Tom Flores (2020) and Tom House (2021). In each of these cases, the men that their communities have come to know and love and the works of their leadership, dedication and generosity are sincere and inspirational. The Legacy Recognition Award™ is a celebration of good works in the past and a call to action for hope and confidence for future generations unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of what has been provided.
 
About the National Quarterback Club
The National Quarterback Club is guided by a comprehensive mission, a clear vision, and consistent values. Through its various award programs, the club recognizes outstanding athletes for their qualities and achievements on and off the playing field, and serve as a model for comprehensive excellence in athletic achievement, academic success, and greater social affinity. In 1985, the National Quarterback Club began a tradition of hosting annual fundraising events to honor the National Quarterback of the Year in professional, collegiate and high school ranks. Annual awards dinners have been hosted in great sports cities such as Washington D.C., Miami, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Green Bay, Denver, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Houston and Scottsdale, Arizona.