MINNEAPOLIS, MN - April 17, 2019 - Eden Prairie head coach and activities director Mike Grant has been named the John Gagliardi Legacy Award recipient by the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation. He will be recognized at the 12th Annual Minnesota Football Honors on Saturday, April 27 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Spending time at Minnetonka and Forest Lake before landing at Eden Prairie, Grant has been coaching and teaching for 40 years. He has become one of the most successful coaches in Minnesota high school history. Grant took over as the Eagles’ head coach in 1992, and has led them to 11 large-school state titles since then. This included four championships in a row from 2011 to 2014. Eden Prairie most recently won a title in 2017.

Grant’s 344 career coaching victories rank fourth all-time in the state record books. His winning percentage of 83 is first among active coaches of 20-plus years. Grant has received acclaim not only on the local level, such as earning numerous coach of the year nods and being named the Star Tribune’s 2014 Sportsperson of the Year, but also on the national stage. He was recognized as the NFL’s National High School Coach of the Year at Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014.

Grant played college football at Saint John’s for the John Gagliardi Award’s namesake. He received the Bob Basten Excellence in Leadership Award from his alma mater in recognition of his leadership, community involvement, sense of fair play and overall commitment to excellence. Grant’s community involvement includes co-founding a non-profit called the Friendship Project that supports single parents.

The Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation will host the 12th Annual Minnesota Football Honors on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The event is presented by the Minnesota Vikings and is the largest football awards event in Minnesota. Doors open at 2 p.m. for the 4 p.m. event. The event is open to the public.  For additional information about this year’s Minnesota Football Honors and to purchase tickets, please visit www.minnesotafootballhonors.com. For sponsorship information, please email sean@nffmn.org.

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About the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation:
The Minnesota Chapter of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a local non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and develop the power of amateur football in developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive spirit and academic excellence in Minnesota’s young people. The MN Chapter recognizes legendary football icons, college football Hall of Famers and Minnesota’s top high school and college football scholar athletes. For more information, visit www.nffmn.org, Facebook or Twitter.

Contact:
Sean Gothier, Executive Director
MN Chapter of The National Football Foundation
sean@nffmn.org