WHAT: The Greater Augusta Sports Council announced it will sponsor the RAY GUY AWARD, a national football prize honoring the nation's top collegiate punter.

WHEN/WHERE: The winner will be honored in Augusta, Georgia in December in conjunction with the Sports Council's Greater Augusta Medals of Excellence in Sports Program.

WHY: There are awards for just about every position in the college game, but nothing for punters until now. "Punting is more than just kicking the ball 50-60 yards." It's also about helping your team out by putting the ball inside the other team's 20." "My main goal is to make sure that the punter is recognized as a team player and a vital part of winning," says Ray Guy.

HOW: Guy suggested the criteria have three factors: total average; number of punts placed inside the opponents 20 yard line; and net average.

BACKGROUND: Ray Guy has been named the greatest punter in NFL history by numerous publications and organizations. He is the only pure punter ever drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, by Oakland in 1973 out of Southern Mississippi, where he was All-American. He was selected to seven Pro Bowls (six consecutively), had a streak of 619 consecutive punts without a block (2nd on NFL all-time list), and he outkicked his opponent in each of the Raiders three SuperBowl victories during a 14 year career where he never missed a game. In the 1976 Pro Bowl, one of his punts hit the giant TV screen hanging from the rafters in the Louisiana Superdome. Not only did he punt high and far- "hang time" came into the NFL lexicon during his tenure- once he even had an opponent take a ball he punted and test it for helium !

NOTE: A board of directors will be chosen for the award, and a national selection committee of approximately 200 sports writers, sportscasters, football coaches, professional football punters, former punters, and previous winners will select the winner. A "watch list" of possible candidates will be determined late this summer and will be narrowed down throughout the season until a winner is chosen in early December.

MEDIA CONTACT: Tammy Stout, Executive Director, Greater Augusta Sports Council 706.722.8326