Ole Miss Chapter to Honor Sneed, Fourcade with National Football Foundation Awards

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) The Ole Miss Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame will honor John B. “Shorty” Sneed of Gulfport, Mississippi with its Contribution to Amateur Football Award and John Fourcade of New Orleans, Louisiana with the Distinguished American Award here Saturday, November 4 when the Rebels host the Texas A&M Aggies.  Kickoff for the ESPN telecast is set for 11 a.m. at Vaught‑Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field.

The Contribution to Amateur Football Award is given by the Ole Miss Chapter in honor of those who have made numerous contributions to the college athletics world through service to their fellow man, while the Distinguished American Award is presented to individuals who have set the standards for excellence in a life of service to the community.

“We are pleased to honor “Shorty” Sneed and John Fourcade for their contributions to Ole Miss Athletics,” said Richard Noble of Indianola, Mississippi, president of the Ole Miss Chapter. “They are most deserving of this recognition, and having an on-campus salute provides an excellent opportunity to express our sincere appreciation for all they have done for Ole Miss.”

Athletics Director Keith Carter and National Football Foundation Chief Operating Officer Matthew Sign will join Noble for the on-field presentation honoring Sneed and Fourcade.

John B. “Shorty” Sneed, a native of Gulfport, graduated from the University of Mississippi with a BBA in Accountancy in 1967 and a Masters of Accountancy in 1968.  At Ole Miss he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity and served as President of the School of Business and Government in 1967.  Sneed passed the CPA exam and received that designation in 1971, serving in the U.S. Army Finance Corps from 1969 until 1971 in Okinawa.

A strong Ole Miss supporter of both academics and athletics, Sneed is a former Board Member of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association, Past President of Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association, a member of the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation, and a Charter Member of the Vaught Society.

Sneed joined Stewart Sneed Hewes, a Gulfport insurance agency, in 1973 after working with Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co (KPMG) in Jackson for three years.  He began with the firm as a producer and became a stockholder and Vice President in 1975.  He was elected President and CEO of Stewart Sneed Hewes in 1994. In 1999, Sneed became President of Stewart Sneed Hewes, a division of BancorpSouth Insurance Services, Inc., now known as Cadence Insurance.

Sneed is active in community affairs to include:  City of Gulfport representative on the Harrison County Development Commission for 14 years; Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce; Center Stage (performing in 33 plays since 1975); Windance Country Club, past President and Board Member; St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Treasurer for 25 years; Gulfport Yacht Club; Gulf Coast Economic Council; Pass Christian Investment Club; Past Chairman of The Mississippi Boiler and Pressure Vessel Safety Advisory Committee; former member of the Advisory Board of Hancock Bank; past member of the Advisory Board of BancorpSouth Bank; member of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers; Independent Insurance Agents of Mississippi; actively involved with the GC Business Council and the Mississippi legislature on insurance issues as a result of Hurricane Katrina.  He has also been actively involved for years with the National Flood Insurance Program. After retiring in 2019, Sneed became Chairman of the Board of Gulf States Holdings, Inc., parent company of Coastal American Insurance Co. and Gulf States Insurance Company.

Sneed is married to the former Patti Henry of Gulfport, a graduate of Ole Miss in l967 with a BS in Home Economics and with a Masters of Arts in Early Childhood Education in 1968.  Their son, Johnny, a 1994 graduate of the Ole Miss Law School, is an actor living in Los Angeles, CA with his wife, Cristina, and their son Henry.  The elder Sneed’s daughter, Lori, who graduated from Ole Miss in 1996 with a BA in English, died in 2017 in Gulfport, after working in Atlanta with CNN.

During his four-years (1978-81) playing quarterback for Coach Steve Sloan’s Rebels, John Fourcade compiled an outstanding record, completing 445 of 819 pass attempts for 5,412 yards and 25 touchdowns, while rushing for another 1,301 yards, including 22 touchdowns.  Fourcade accounted for 6,713 total offensive yards and 47 touchdowns.

Following his senior season, Fourcade had established 12 Ole Miss offensive records, including seven single game marks and five new season records.  He also tied the single-game record for most TDs passing with four against Alabama in 1980, which shared the record with Charlie Conerly (4 vs. Tennessee, 1947), Glynn Griffing (4 vs. Houston, 1962) and Shug Chumbler (4 vs. Chattanooga, 1970).

Being involved in community and civic service has been a way of life for Fourcade, beginning in 1981 when he was selected to participate in the Fiesta Bowl-NCAA Drug Education Project. He also received the John Howard Vaught Award of Excellence in the spring of 1982.

Since his Ole Miss days, Fourcade has been involved with the American Cancer Society and Cerebral Palsy Charity. He participated in youth football camps throughout the south with other New Orleans Saints players, and has continued with youth football camps, mostly in the South, since his retirement from professional football, which included four years (1987-90) with the Saints.

He has a group called “Fourcade’s Brigade Disaster Relief,” that travels to disaster areas with supplies to assist areas hit by hurricanes and tornados, including areas as far away as New York for Hurricane Sandy and when tornados hit Norman, Oklahoma; Waco, Texas; and Tupelo, Mississippi. He has been doing the Relief Charity the last 10 years and continues, with his partners, to assist with disaster relief in the New Orleans area.

Chosen as the permanent team captain of the 1981 Rebels, Fourcade was named the Outstanding Offensive Player of the 1982 Senior Bowl after passing for 115 yards and rushing for 33 yards and two touchdowns as the South defeated the North 27-10, plus he was also selected to the 1981 Hula Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii and the 1981 Blue-Gray Classic in Mobile, Alabama.

During his junior season in 1980, Fourcade led the Southeastern Conference in total offense for the second year in a row with 2,299 yards, which, at that time, represented the most total offense ever amassed by one player at Ole Miss in an individual year.  His 1,897 passing yards was also, at that time, the best ever in a single season for a Rebel player and he earned All-Southeastern Conference first-team honors in 1980 by United Press International and second-team by The Associated Press.

Fourcade led the Southeastern Conference in total offense in 1979 with 2,014 yards as he became only the second sophomore in SEC history to lead the league in total offense, while being named the SEC Sophomore of the Year by several polls, including the Birmingham Touchdown Club and the Columbus (Ga.) Quarterback Club, and earned second-team All-SEC honors from both the Associated Press and United Press International.  One of his best games as a sophomore came when he rushed for 169 yards against Vanderbilt, which, at the time, was the second most rushing yards in a single game for an Ole Miss quarterback.  QB Norris Weese had 178 yards rushing against Mississippi State in 1972.

As a senior in 1982, Fourcade received the highest honor an Ole Miss student can receive when he was elected to the University of Mississippi Student Hall of Fame, while being elected Colonel Rebel and being named to Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges. Fourcade was selected to the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 2018, joining Ole Miss greats Archie Manning (1989) and Deuce McAllister (2015).

During his four NFL seasons (1987-1990) with the New Orleans Saints, John Fourcade appeared in 24 games, starting 11, and completed 159 of 313 pass attempts for 2,312 yards and 14 touchdowns.   His longest completion was for 82 yards.  He also rushed for another 302 yards on 48 carries and scored three touchdowns.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

(Featured Image Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics)

Adam Brown

Adam Brown joins The Rebel Walk as the Managing Editor after being on the Ole Miss beat as a Sports Editor for over 11 years. He is a lifelong Oxford resident. Brown graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Prior to The Rebel Walk, Brown was the sports editor of HottyToddy.com covering every Ole Miss sport and local high school sports in the community.