The winner of the Rimington Trophy is selected by determining the consensus All-American center pick from four existing All-America teams. While more than a dozen All-America football teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these four prestigious teams to determine a winner:
Because the selectors of these four All-America teams can place centers in a "mix" of offensive linemen that includes guards and tackles, their 11-man first teams can often have two centers. The Rimington Trophy committee's policy is to count all players who play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, though they may be listed as guards or tackles on the four All-American teams. The center with the most first-team votes is determined to be the winner. If a tie occurs with first-team votes, then the center with most second-team votes wins. If a tie still exists, the winner is determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy committee.
Since 2005, the Rimington Trophy also recognizes legendary centers from the past by presenting the President Gerald R. Ford Legendary Center Award, which is named after Gerald Ford. The award is presented annually to a former collegiate or professional center who was either a legend on or off the field by making extraordinary contributions through business, civic, or philanthropic endeavors.[18]
^Musselman, Ron (December 12, 2008). "PSU Football: Shipley receives national award". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
