National Football Foundation

A dedicated student and dominant defensive tackle, Rhema Fuller becomes the first National Scholar-Athlete in the history of the University of Connecticut football program. 

Majoring in finance, Fuller already received his undergraduate degree with Cum Laude honors in May 2006. A four-time Dean's List member, he has twice earned Academic All-Conference honors and ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-District recognition. Earlier this year, Fuller received the Donald Kinsman Award, presented to the top two student-athletes in the entire school. 

A top defensive player for the Huskies, Fuller has recorded 22 tackles, six tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery after the first seven games of his senior campaign. A team captain and three-year team starter, he made a career-high 33 tackles in 2005. 

Active on campus and in his community, Fuller participates as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and serves as a teacher's assistant for third grade and middle schools students in the subject of math. He also mentors boys in juvenile detention as part of the Positive Steps program. A volunteer in MS walks, he serves as a student guide on Big Brothers & Big Sisters visits to the UConn campus. 

Fuller earned his master's and Ph.D. in sport management from Connecticut and is currently a research professor of sport management at the University of Memphis.