Football
Bill Ford played a key role for the Carleton football teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s, helping the Knights to their highest win totals in more than two decades. He established several school passing records at the time and led Carleton to the Midwest Conference division championship in 1979 before captaining the 1980 and 1981 squads to the conference’s second-best win-loss record both years. After coming off the bench to play both quarterback and safety as a rookie, Ford grabbed the reins of the offense as a sophomore and guided the Knights to a 16-2 ledger as a starter in Midwest Conference play over his final three years. That run included an undefeated division record in 1979, thanks to a road win over preseason favorite Lake Forest, to earn the Knights a spot in the Midwest Conference championship game. As a senior, he earned All-Midwest Conference honorable mention, and Carleton’s seven victories in 1981 were surpassed only once in program annals at the time, a history that stretched back nearly 100 years. According to figures from the NCAA, Ford passed 522 times for 3,570 yards with 30 touchdowns over his final three seasons. Although individual statistics are not available for his freshman campaign, Ford’s three-year totals from his sophomore through senior seasons were still enough to move him atop Carleton’s career leaderboard in pass attempts, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. Other team records that he set during his time donning the maize and blue include most touchdown passes in a single season (13 in 1981) and highest single-game completion percentage—73.4 percent versus Ripon in 1980.
After a variety of professional positions and service opportunities related to law, business, public policy, and youth organizations, Ford now serves as Senior Counsel for the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He has also volunteered for the Carleton Alumni Annual Fund, serving as the class agent for ten years.
Ford and his spouse Jill reside in West Chester, OH. They have two daughters, Nikki and Katie.