The Rotary Lombardi Award is awarded annually to the best college football lineman or linebacker. The Rotary Lombardi Award program was approved by the Rotary Club in Houston in 1970 shortly after the death of Vince Lombardi. The committee outlined the criteria for eligibility for the award, which remains in place to this day. A player should be a down lineman on either side of the ball or a linebacker who lines up no farther than five yards deep from the ball.