Tim Clifford

Clifford attended the Indiana University Bloomington where he played varsity football and baseball. He was a pitcher for the baseball team and played at the quarterback position for the school's football team from 1977 to 1980.^[1][3] He became the school's all-time leader in passing yardage. In his four years at Indiana, Clifford completed 333 of 631 passes for 4,338 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 32 interceptions.^[3]

As a junior, Clifford totaled 2,078 passing yards and led the 1979 Indiana Hoosiers football team to an 8–4 record and the program's first victory in a bowl game, a 38–37 victory over BYU in the 1979 Holiday Bowl.^[4] In September 1978, he completed 11 passes for 345 yards and five touchdowns in a 49–7 victory over Colorado.^[5] During the 1979 season, Clifford set Indiana single-season records in pass attempts (259), completions (149), passing yardage (1,907 in regular season games), and total offense (1,978 yards in regular season games).^[1]

At the end of the 1979 season, he won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference.^[1] He was the first Hoosier to win the Silver Football since Corbett Davis in 1937.^[1] Despite being selected as the conference MVP, Clifford did not receive first- or second-team honors from the Associated Press, as Art Schlichter and Mark Herrmann won those honors.^[6]

Clifford was a team co-captain in both 1979 and 1980 and was selected as Indiana's team MVP in both of those years.^[7] He led the East team to a 21–3 victory in the 1981 East–West Shrine Game and shared offensive most valuable player honors with Amos Lawrence.^[8] Clifford also played in the Japan Bowl. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 10th round of the 1981 NFL draft.^[9]

Clifford was inducted into the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.^[7] From 1999, he was the business manager of St. Ann Church in Cincinnati.

Clifford died on October 23, 2024, at the age of 65.^[10]