Jay Novacek
Encyclopedia
Jay McKinley Novacek is a former American football
tight end
in the National Football League
who played for the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals
(1985–1989) and the Dallas Cowboys
(1990–1995). Novacek was a five-time Pro Bowl
er, who was selected to play each year from 1991 through 1995. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 2008.
in Gothenburg, Nebraska
, where he played quarterback and wore number 15, then played college football
at the University of Wyoming
. He was selected to the Kodak All-America
n football team in 1984 after setting a NCAA
record for receiving yards per receptions by a tight end. He had 83 career receptions for 1,536 yards and ten touchdowns. Novacek also competed in track and field for the University of Wyoming. He won the Western Athletic Conference
decathlon
championship, earning All-American honors. He also set UW records for decathlon points, 7,615, and in the pole vault
, 16'4".
in the sixth round of the 1985 NFL Draft
by the St. Louis Cardinals
. After spending five seasons with the Cardinals, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a Plan B free agent
. Novacek was a key contributor for Dallas in the early 1990s, assisting them to three Super Bowl
wins in four seasons. In those games, he recorded a combined total of 17 receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Novacek, who hadn't played a game since Super Bowl XXX
in 1996, officially retired from the NFL on July 15, 1997 due to a lingering back injury. In his 11 seasons, Novacek recorded 422 receptions for 4,630 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Novacek also co-stars in commercials for friend Bob Lovell of Home Marketing Services in Dallas, Texas.
Novacek currently owns a private hunting ranch in Brady, Nebraska
called "Jay Novacek's Upper 84 Ranch".
Novacek was commemorated for his 2008 induction into the College Football Hall of Fame
, at half-time of the Wyoming Cowboys game, on 9/13/08.
Novacek conducts a youth football camp at the University of North Texas
, in Denton, Texas
, every summer.
Jay appeared as a coach on the Spike TV
reality series 4th and Long
, as an instructor, in 2009.
On February 1, 2010, Novacek's wife, LeAnne, was found dead in her mother's home in Burleson, Texas
, in an apparent suicide. Police say she evidently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
who played for the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(1985–1989) and the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
(1990–1995). Novacek was a five-time Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
er, who was selected to play each year from 1991 through 1995. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 2008.
Early life
Novacek played high school footballHigh school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
in Gothenburg, Nebraska
Gothenburg, Nebraska
Gothenburg is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lexington, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,619 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, where he played quarterback and wore number 15, then played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
. He was selected to the Kodak All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n football team in 1984 after setting a NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
record for receiving yards per receptions by a tight end. He had 83 career receptions for 1,536 yards and ten touchdowns. Novacek also competed in track and field for the University of Wyoming. He won the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
championship, earning All-American honors. He also set UW records for decathlon points, 7,615, and in the pole vault
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
, 16'4".
Professional career
Novacek was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the sixth round of the 1985 NFL Draft
1985 NFL Draft
The 1985 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985...
by the St. Louis Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. After spending five seasons with the Cardinals, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a Plan B free agent
Plan B free agency
The Plan B free agency was a type of free agency that became active in the National Football League in February 1989. Plan B free agency permitted all teams in the NFL to preserve limited rights of no more than 37 total players a season...
. Novacek was a key contributor for Dallas in the early 1990s, assisting them to three Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
wins in four seasons. In those games, he recorded a combined total of 17 receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Novacek, who hadn't played a game since Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
in 1996, officially retired from the NFL on July 15, 1997 due to a lingering back injury. In his 11 seasons, Novacek recorded 422 receptions for 4,630 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Post-NFL Career
Novacek currently serves as spokesperson for the Alltel Wireless "Yards 4 Youth Football" program in West Texas. For every yard gained by 11 high school football teams in the region, Alltel will donate $1 to each school’s corresponding youth football organization. Each week, an additional $500 will be donated to youth football programs across West Texas on behalf of the "Yards 4 Youth Football Player of the Week" and "Team of the Week."Novacek also co-stars in commercials for friend Bob Lovell of Home Marketing Services in Dallas, Texas.
Novacek currently owns a private hunting ranch in Brady, Nebraska
Brady, Nebraska
Brady is a village in Lincoln County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the North Platte, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 366 at the 2000 census...
called "Jay Novacek's Upper 84 Ranch".
Novacek was commemorated for his 2008 induction into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
, at half-time of the Wyoming Cowboys game, on 9/13/08.
Novacek conducts a youth football camp at the University of North Texas
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
, in Denton, Texas
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
, every summer.
Jay appeared as a coach on the Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
reality series 4th and Long
4th and Long
4th and Long is a reality television series hosted by Michael Irvin that premiered on Spike on May 18, 2009.The winner of the show earned a spot at the Dallas Cowboys training camp - with a shot of making the roster. The show pits six wide receivers against six defensive backs...
, as an instructor, in 2009.
On February 1, 2010, Novacek's wife, LeAnne, was found dead in her mother's home in Burleson, Texas
Burleson, Texas
Burleson is a city in Johnson and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is considered a suburb of Fort Worth and is located in the rapidly growing suburban expanse just south of the city. As of the 2010 census, the population was 36,690, having increased from the 20,976 residents counted...
, in an apparent suicide. Police say she evidently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
External links
- Wyoming Athletics College Football Hall of Fame story
- University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame - inducted 1993
- Novacek's stats