Kutztown, Pa. – Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Kutztown wide receiver Andre Reed was presented today with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s highest honor, the Award of Merit. PSAC Commissioner Steve Murray presented the award to Reed at a reception ceremony held on Kutztown’s campus.
The PSAC Award of Merit, awarded to individuals with an affiliation with a league school, either as an alumnus, coach or administrator, is given for outstanding and extraordinary accomplishments or services that bring exceptional recognition and honor to the conference.
Reed, four-year letterman at Kutztown from 1981-84, was the first player from the PSAC to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Class of 2014 alongside Derrick Brooks, Ray Guy, Claude Humphrey, Walter Jones, Michael Strahan, and Aeneas Williams.
Reed hauled-in 142 career catches for 2,002 yards and 14 touchdowns as a Golden Bear. He was named an All-PSAC player in 1983 and 1984 and is one of four Kutztown players to have their jersey number retired.
Following Kutztown, Reed was drafted in 1985 in the fourth round (86th player overall) by the Buffalo Bills and spent 15 years with the franchise. He led the Bills to four Super Bowls and played one year with the Washington Redskins before turning-in a career stat sheet consisting of 951 receptions for 13,198 yards and 87 touchdowns. He totaled team record 36 games with 100-plus receiving yards, while being a four-time All-AFC and three-time All-NFL selection.
He was named to the Kutztown University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991 and later added to the NCAA Division II Football Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, he became a member of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame and was added to the Great Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame last October. Reed, a second-time Pro-Bowler, was named to the 1997 NCAA Division II Team of the Quarter Century.
Following his illustrious football career and earning his degree from Kutztown in 2005, Reed established The Andre Reed Foundation in 2010 to help underprivileged children reach their full potential. The Foundation is headquartered in Reed’s hometown of Allentown, Pa. The nonprofit organization supports local charities, including Boys and Girls Club of Allentown and the United Way.
The Award of Merit has previously been presented to six individuals: Bruce Baumgartner (Edinboro) and Steve Spence (Shippensburg) in 1992, Kurt Angle (Clarion) in 1997, Chuck Daly (Bloomsburg) in 2002 and Wade Schalles (Clarion) and Jan Hutchinson (Bloomsburg) in 2012.
Baumgartner is a four-time Olympic medalist as a wrestler and Spence was part of the 1992 Olympic marathon team. Angle was presented with the award following a gold-medal performance at the 1996 Olympics. Daly coached the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers (1981-82), Detroit Pistons (1983-92), New Jersey Nets (1992-94), and Orlando Magic (1997-99). Schalles holds the NCAA all-time pins record with 106 and owns a career record of 153-5-1. Hutchinson coached field hockey and softball at Bloomsburg for 32 and 33 seasons, respectively. She compiled a total of 1,806 combined wins with 16 field hockey national championships.
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The borough of Kutztown, Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education and the Kutztown University President’s Office also honored Reed on Friday evening. The Kutztown Council of Trustees will officially name Kutztown’s football stadium University Field at Andre Reed Stadium during a pre-game ceremony on Saturday.