Louisiana Tech head football coach Jack Bicknell III will be the featured speaker at the 19th annual National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Miss-Lou Chapter banquet Feb. 24.

The banquet will be held at the Radisson Natchez Eola Hotel at 7 p.m.

&uot;We look for this year’s banquet to be another outstanding event,&uot; said NFFHF-Miss-Lou Chapter organizer Joe Fortunato.

Bicknell led Tech to an 8-3 record in his first year as head coach this past season.

While Bicknell will be the featured speaker, the stars of the show as usual will be the seven student-athletes from each of the immediate schools vying for scholarships.

A senior football player from Natchez, Cathedral, Adams County Christian School, Trinity, Vidalia, Ferriday and Huntington will be honored and recognized for his academic, athletic and community involvement.

Seven junior high athletes will also be recognized with certificates.

Scholarships range from $350 for five participants to $750 for another and $1,500 for the top scholar-athlete.

Cathedral High’s Barr Biglane won the top honor last year as Ole Miss head football coach David Cutcliffe was the guest speaker.

Trinity’s Hicks Winters received the second-highest award.

Also being honored at this year’s event is Claude Porter with the Distinguished American Award and E.P. James with the Contribution to Amateur Football Award.

Cost of the banquet is $15. Most of the money raised for the scholarships comes as a result of the Joe Fortunato Celebrity Golf Tournament, which will be held May 5-7 this year at Duncan Park.