Russell Erxleben Russell Erxleben ( born January 13 , 1957 ) is a former American football player and currency investor . He shares the record for the longest field goal in NCAA history , originally set in 1977 while playing for the University of Texas . Erxleben was a three - time All - America punter ( 1976 , 1977 , and 1978 ) . He was drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft , an extremely rare occurrence for a kicker . After an NFL career lasting six years , he became a currency investor . Convicted of securities fraud in 1999 , he was released from federal prison in 2005 . He was again convicted of investment fraud in 2014 and sentenced to 90 months ( seven and one - half years ) in federal prison . Early years . Erxleben was raised in the small city of Seguin , Texas , located about 35 miles east of San Antonio , Texas , where he was a stand - out as a high school kicker . He had a conventional straight - on kicking style , using a two - step approach . Highly recruited , he entered the University of Texas as a top prospect in 1975 . The University of Texas at Austin . He quickly earned a reputation as a reliable kicker for the Longhorns . In December of his freshman year , he played in the Bluebonnet Bowl against the University of Colorado . Despite early troubles in the game , including a missed field goal and a blocked extra point , Erxleben kicked a field goal late in the game , breaking the tie and securing the win for Texas . In 1977 , in a game against Rice University , he set the record for the longest field goal in NCAA history with a 67 yard kick . UT head coach Fred Akers said of the kick , " It was like a gunshot . We couldn ' t believe a ball was going that far . It had another eight yards on it . " Erxleben kicked two other field goals over sixty yards that season . Rule changes in NCAA football since 1977 , specifically the prohibition of kicking tees for field goals , as well as changes to the placement of the ball following a failed kick , have discouraged such long attempts , and thus attempts to break the record are now rare . The longest field goal since the rule changes came in 1998 when Martin Gramatica of Kansas State made a 65 - yard attempt . Erxleben is the only three - time All - America punter in NCAA history , being a consensus choice in 1976 , 1977 , and 1978 . Professional playing career . In 1979 , he was unexpectedly drafted in the first round ( eleventh pick overall ) by the New Orleans Saints . At the time , this was the second highest selection of a kicker in the draft , with the highest drafted kicker being Charlie Gogolak . The Saints hoped to save a roster spot by having him perform both the place - kicking and punting duties . He played six seasons in the NFL , primarily as a punter . Despite his stellar college career , he did not make the Pro Bowl during his NFL career . In Erxleben ' s first NFL game , on September 2 , 1979 , the Saints and the archrival Atlanta Falcons went into overtime with the score 34 - 34 . Midway through overtime , a snap went over Erxleben ' s head and rolled to the goal line . Erxleben picked the ball up and made a hurried chest pass . The pass was intercepted by Atlanta ' s James Mayberry at the 6 - yard line , and he trotted into the end zone for a touchdown and a 40 - 34 Falcon victory . New Orleans finished the year at 8 - 8 , one game behind the Los Angeles Rams , who won the division and played in Super Bowl XIV . In the 1980 season opener , Erxleben missed a game - tying field goal attempt in a 26 - 23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers , a team that had won four games over the previous two seasons . The loss was the first of 14 consecutive defeats for the Saints , who ended the year 1 - 15 . The Saints released him in 1983 . After four years out of football , he attempted a comeback with the Detroit Lions , but retired for good in 1988 . Legal issues . After retiring from the NFL , he became a financial investor in foreign exchange trading , founding Austin Forex International in Austin , Texas . In 1999 , following an investigation by the Texas State Securities Board and the Internal Revenue Service , Erxleben pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud , mail fraud and money laundering , and a second count for securities fraud , in connection with misleading statements regarding the past performance of Austin Forex . On September 18 , 2000 , Erxleben was sentenced by United States District Court Judge James R . Nowlin to 84 months in prison , and ordered to pay a total of $ 28 million in restitution and a one million dollar fine . Erxleben ' s lawyers , the law firm of Locke , Liddell & Sapp , settled a related lawsuit for $ 22m in 2000 . On January 24 , 2013 , Erxleben was arrested again on various Federal charges related to an alleged Ponzi scheme . In December 2013 Erxleben pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering . On February 24 , 2014 , he was sentenced to 90 months in prison . Family . Erxleben ' s son , Ryan Erxleben , is a punter for the Texas Tech University football team .