Chad Lewis
Encyclopedia
Chad Wayne Lewis is a former American football
tight end
in the National Football League
for the Philadelphia Eagles
and St. Louis Rams
.
and played football at Orem High School
. During High School Chad worked at Riverside Country Club. Before attending college, Lewis served as an LDS missionary for two years in Taichung, Taiwan where he learned to speak Mandarin
.
, Lewis finished his collegiate
career with 111 receptions for 1,376 yards, and ten touchdowns. As a junior, he was an All-WAC
first-team choice, and a UPI
All-America
n honorable mention.
in 1997. After playing 2½ seasons with the Eagles he was signed by the St. Louis Rams
for only one season. Lewis won a Super Bowl
title with the Rams in 1999 (Super Bowl XXXIV
over the Tennessee Titans
). Lewis was re-signed by the Eagles and caught the game clinching touchdown pass in the 2005 NFC Championship game. However, during this reception, Lewis suffered a serious foot injury that kept him out of the Super Bowl XXXIX
loss to the New England Patriots
.
In 2002 the NFL sent Lewis to Taiwan
, Singapore
and Thailand
to promote the NFL. Since then he has visited China
five times to give interviews and help with football clinics. He has also spoken at the Fourth of July celebration in China.
In 2009 Lewis released a memoir, Surround Yourself With Greatness, and in 2010 he returned to BYU as an Associate Athletic Director.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
.
Early life
Lewis grew up in Orem, UtahOrem, Utah
Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the north-central part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is about south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Utah and...
and played football at Orem High School
Orem High School
Orem High School is a high school located in Orem, Utah, part of Alpine School District. It was built originally in 1956 and has since undergone major renovations...
. During High School Chad worked at Riverside Country Club. Before attending college, Lewis served as an LDS missionary for two years in Taichung, Taiwan where he learned to speak Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
.
College career
After walking on at Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
, Lewis finished his collegiate
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
career with 111 receptions for 1,376 yards, and ten touchdowns. As a junior, he was an All-WAC
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
first-team choice, and a UPI
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n honorable mention.
Professional career
Lewis signed as an undrafted free agent for the Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1997. After playing 2½ seasons with the Eagles he was signed by the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
for only one season. Lewis won a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
title with the Rams in 1999 (Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
over the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
). Lewis was re-signed by the Eagles and caught the game clinching touchdown pass in the 2005 NFC Championship game. However, during this reception, Lewis suffered a serious foot injury that kept him out of the Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 2004 regular season...
loss to the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
.
In 2002 the NFL sent Lewis to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
to promote the NFL. Since then he has visited China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
five times to give interviews and help with football clinics. He has also spoken at the Fourth of July celebration in China.
In 2009 Lewis released a memoir, Surround Yourself With Greatness, and in 2010 he returned to BYU as an Associate Athletic Director.