[1] The award is presented annually to "college football's most inspirational athlete, who displays a sense of courage and an undying love for the game, while overcoming adversity on or off the field.
"[2] Ali overcame many obstacles in life prior to earning an athletic scholarship to play for William & Mary, located in Williamsburg, Virginia.
[3] As a child, Ali, his mother, and his sisters often had to live in their station wagon in Dover, Delaware because "that's all we had," he later said (he even spent one Christmas Eve in the car).
[3] It provided stability, and after a stellar football career at Dover High School, he was awarded an athletic scholarship to play for the Tribe.
[5] In his true freshman season they won the Yankee Conference championship, made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs, and were named that year's Lambert Cup winners.