IRVING, Texas (Sept. 26, 2018) – Recognizing one of the most impressive groups of scholar-athletes in the history of college football, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) proudly announced today the 179 semifinalists for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy
®. The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. Fidelity Investments is a proud partner of the Campbell Trophy
®.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 31, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 4, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy
® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must
be a senior or graduate student in their
final year of playing eligibility, have a
GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have
outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated
strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
"These 179 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman
Archie Manning, whose sons
Peyton (Campbell Trophy
® winner) and
Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "For 60 years, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program has showcased more than 800 college football players who have been successful on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders."
Named in honor of the late
Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, the Campbell Trophy
® is a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total postgraduate scholarship of $25,000. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.5 million.
"The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on their tremendous accomplishments," said NFF President & CEO
Steve Hatchell. "We are extremely proud to highlight each semifinalist's achievements, showcasing their ability to balance academics and athletics at the highest level. The NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the finalists from this outstanding group of candidates."
2018 NFF WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® SEMIFINALISTS NOTES
- 60th Year of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Program
- 29th Year of The William V. Campbell Trophy®
- 179 Nominations
- 3.62 Average GPA
- 7 Nominees with a perfect 4.0 GPA
- 51 Nominees with a 3.8 GPA or better
- 70 Nominees with a 3.7 GPA or Better
- 29 Academic All-America Selections
- 114 Captains
- 95 All-Conference Picks
- 16 All-Americans
- 63 Nominees from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
- 40 Nominees from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
- 25 Nominees from NCAA Division II
- 41 Nominees from NCAA Division III
- 10 Nominees from the NAIA
- 81 Offensive Players
- 81 Defensive Players
- 17 Special Teams Players
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program is celebrating its 60th year in 2018. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments, and the NFF has recognized 841 outstanding individuals since their inception. The Campbell Trophy
®, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program's prestige, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and five first-round NFL draft picks.
Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of workplace savings plans in higher education, serves as a proud partner of the Campbell Trophy
® and the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. Since 2013, the Campbell Trophy
® has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.
Fidelity also helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with a Campbell Trophy
® finalist/NFF National Scholar-Athlete. As part of the initiative, the NFF presents each of the faculty representatives with a plaque, and Fidelity donates $5,000 for the academic support services at each school with a total of $505,000 distributed from 2011-17.
The past recipients of The William V. Campbell Trophy
® include: Air Force's
Chris Howard (1990); Florida's
Brad Culpepper (1991); Colorado's
Jim Hansen (1992); Virginia's
Thomas Burns (1993); Nebraska's
Robert Zatechka (1994); Ohio State's
Bobby Hoying (1995); Florida's
Danny Wuerffel (1996); Tennessee's
Peyton Manning (1997); Georgia's
Matt Stinchcomb (1998); Marshall's
Chad Pennington (1999); Nebraska's
Kyle Vanden Bosch (2000); Miami (Fla.)'s
Joaquin Gonzalez (2001); Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.)'s
Brandon Roberts (2002); Ohio State's
Craig Krenzel (2003); Tennessee's
Michael Muñoz (2004); LSU's
Rudy Niswanger (2005); Rutgers'
Brian Leonard (2006); Texas'
Dallas Griffin (2007); California's
Alex Mack (2008); Florida's
Tim Tebow (2009); Texas'
Sam Acho (2010); Army West Point's
Andrew Rodriguez (2011); Alabama's
Barrett Jones (2012); Penn State's
John Urschel (2013); Duke's
David Helton (2014); Oklahoma's
Ty Darlington (2015); Western Michigan's
Zach Terrell (2016); and Virginia's
Micah Kiser (2017).
2018 NFF WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® SEMIFINALISTS
Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
| SCHOOL |
NAME |
| Alabama |
Hale Hentges |
| Arkansas |
Hjalte Froholdt |
| Army West Point |
Kenneth Brinson Jr. |
| Ball State |
Alex Joss |
| Boston College |
Zach Allen |
| Brigham Young |
Adam Pulsipher |
| California |
Patrick Laird |
| Central Michigan |
Mitch Stanitzek |
| Clemson |
Christian Wilkins |
| Colorado State |
Wyatt Bryan |
| Duke |
Ben Humphreys |
| Eastern Michigan |
Jeremiah Harris |
| Georgia |
Jackson Harris |
| Georgia Tech |
Brad Stewart |
| Houston |
Zach Vaughan |
| Illinois |
Nick Allegretti |
| Indiana |
Wes Martin |
| Iowa |
Parker Hesse |
| Iowa State |
Spencer Benton |
| Kansas State |
Dalton Risner |
| Kent State |
Matt Bahr |
| Kentucky |
Miles Butler |
| Marshall |
Chase Hancock |
| Memphis |
Drew Kyser |
| Michigan |
Noah Furbush |
| Michigan State |
Khari Willis |
| Middle Tennessee State |
Brent Stockstill |
| Minnesota |
Jared Weyler |
| Mississippi |
Sean Rawlings |
| Missouri |
Corey Fatony |
| Navy |
Andrew Wood |
| Nebraska |
Mick Stoltenberg |
| Nevada |
Ty Gangi |
| North Carolina State |
Ryan Finley |
| Northern Illinois |
Max Scharping |
| Notre Dame |
Drue Tranquill |
| Oklahoma State |
Britton Abbott |
| Old Dominion |
Oshane Ximines |
| Penn State |
Trace McSorley |
| Pittsburgh |
Alex Bookser |
| Purdue |
David Blough |
| Rice |
Graysen Schantz |
| Rutgers |
Zack Heeman |
| San Jose State |
Bryce Crawford |
| South Alabama |
Gavin Patterson |
| South Florida |
Jaymon Thomas |
| Southern Methodist |
Garrett Stotts |
| Stanford |
Jesse Burkett |
| Syracuse |
Eric Dungey |
| Temple |
Frank Nutile |
| Tennessee |
Kyle Phillips |
| Texas |
Jak Holbrook |
| Texas at San Antonio |
Yannis Routsas |
| Toledo |
Cody Thompson |
| Utah |
Mitch Wishnowsky |
| Utah State |
Jontrell Rocquemore |
| Vanderbilt |
Kyle Shurmur |
| Virginia |
Lester Coleman |
| Washington State |
Peyton Pelluer |
| West Virginia |
Billy Kinney |
| Western Michigan |
John Keenoy |
| Wisconsin |
D'Cota Dixon |
| Wyoming |
Nick Smith |
Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
| SCHOOL |
NAME |
| Alabama State |
Dylan Renaker |
| Alcorn State |
Charles Hughes |
| Austin Peay State |
Ryan Rockensuess |
| Brown |
Christian Montano |
| Bucknell |
Bryan Marine |
| Campbell |
Thomas Hartshorn |
| Chattanooga |
Alex Trotter |
| Columbia |
Mike Hinton |
| Dartmouth |
Drew Hunnicutt |
| Davidson |
Nathan Campbell |
| Dayton |
David Leisring |
| Drake |
Nathan Clayberg |
| Eastern Illinois |
Aaron Callaway |
| Grambling State |
De'Arius Christmas |
| Harvard |
Alex White |
| Holy Cross |
Ryan Brady |
| Idaho |
Ed Hall |
| Illinois State |
Jake Kolbe |
| Jacksonville |
Nic Duch |
| James Madison |
Hunter Etheridge |
| Lafayette |
Andrew Chuma |
| Lehigh |
Harrison Kauffman |
| Mercer |
LeMarkus Bailey |
| Montana |
Reggie Tilleman |
| New Hampshire |
Kyle Reisert |
| North Dakota State |
Easton Stick |
| Northern Arizona |
Jake Casteel |
| Pennsylvania |
Jack Soslow |
| Princeton |
Jesper Horsted |
| Robert Morris |
Adam Wollet |
| Sacred Heart |
Andrew O'Neill |
| Saint Francis |
Michael Ames |
| San Diego |
Anthony Lawrence |
| South Dakota |
Isaac Armstead |
| South Dakota State |
Taryn Christion |
| Villanova |
Ryan Bell |
| Western Carolina |
Zachary Weeks |
| Western Illinois |
Sean McGuire |
| Yale |
J. Hunter Roman |
| Youngstown State |
Armand Dellovade |
Division II
| SCHOOL |
NAME |
| Ashland (OH) |
Travis Downing |
| Bentley (MA) |
Jack Hansbury |
| Black Hills State (SD) |
Austin Goddard |
| Central Missouri |
Austin Miller |
| Colorado State-Pueblo |
Brandon Payer |
| East Stroudsburg (PA) |
Michael Fleming |
| Emporia State (KS) |
Landon Nault |
| Grand Valley State (MI) |
Bart Williams |
| Harding (AR) |
Sam Blankenship |
| Kutztown (PA) |
Conor Sullivan |
| Malone (OH) |
Matt Blasiole |
| Mars Hill (NC) |
Jake Sell |
| Minnesota Duluth |
Jason Balts |
| Missouri S&T |
Landon Compton |
| Newberry (SC) |
Jawanza Adams |
| Northwest Missouri State |
Ben Althoff |
| Ohio Dominican |
Cory Contini |
| Ouachita Baptist (AR) |
Drew Harris |
| Pittsburg State (KS) |
Darian Taylor |
| Southeastern Oklahoma State |
Joel Carlos |
| Southern Arkansas |
Kile Pletcher |
| Southwest Minnesota State |
Jon Dicke |
| Texas A&M-Commerce |
Garrett Blubaugh |
| Wayne State (MI) |
Drew Dowding |
| Wingate (NC) |
Christopher Birozes |
Division III
| SCHOOL |
NAME |
| Allegheny (PA) |
Tristan Rhoades |
| Amherst (MA) |
Andrew Yamin |
| Baldwin Wallace (OH) |
Rob Wolfington |
| Berry (GA) |
Nick McGee |
| Bethel (MN) |
Kyle Kilgore |
| Birmingham-Southern (AL) |
Matthew Byers |
| Bluffton (OH) |
Ethan Williams |
| Bowdoin (ME) |
Cam Rondeau |
| Central (IA) |
Patrick Gray |
| Centre (KY) |
John Wilson |
| DePauw (IN) |
Nate Orrison |
| Franklin & Marshall (PA) |
Brendan Kilkenny |
| Frostburg State (MD) |
Joey Powell |
| Gallaudet (DC) |
Brad Peterson |
| Hardin-Simmons (TX) |
Patrick Riley |
| Hobart (NY) |
Kiyon Brandford |
| Illinois College |
JD Roesch |
| John Carroll (OH) |
Drew Turner |
| Johns Hopkins (MD) |
Anthony Davidson |
| Juniata (PA) |
Joel Reighard |
| Lake Forest (IL) |
Jagan Cleary |
| Lycoming (PA) |
Sam Romanofsky |
| Maine Maritime |
John Bennett |
| Manchester (IN) |
Zane Yon |
| Millsaps (MS) |
Steele Liles |
| Moravian (PA) |
Nick Zambelli |
| Mount Union (OH) |
Danny Robinson |
| Ohio Wesleyan |
Michael Smosny |
| Redlands (CA) |
Christian Godina |
| Rhodes (TN) |
P.J. Settles |
| Saint John's (MN) |
Will Gillach |
| Springfield (MA) |
Nick Giorgio |
| Stevenson (MD) |
Ashton Leschke |
| Washington & Jefferson (PA) |
Andrew Reo |
| Washington U. in St. Louis (MO) |
Hank Michalski |
| Wesleyan (CT) |
Joseph Wilson |
| Wheaton (IL) |
Eric Stevenson |
| Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
Turner Geisthardt |
| Wisconsin-Stout |
Caleb Adams |
| Wisconsin-Whitewater |
Nate Trewyn |
| Wooster (OH) |
Russell Boston |
NAIA
| SCHOOL |
NAME |
| Benedictine (KS) |
Blake Fanning |
| Cumberland (TN) |
Jeremy Williams |
| Dakota State (SD) |
Michael Cleveland |
| Edward Waters (FL) |
Justin Slaughter |
| Lindsey Wilson (KY) |
Trent Mueller |
| Montana Western |
Connor McKillop |
| Northwestern College (IA) |
Bryce Van Beek |
| Peru State (NE) |
Dan Boshart |
| Presentation (SD) |
Austin Eggl |
| Saint Francis (IN) |
Piercen Harnish |
About The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include Football Matters®, the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy®, annual scholarships of more than $1.3 million and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments – a proud partner of the Campbell Trophy®, Herff Jones, New York Athletic Club, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the Sports Business Journal, SportsManias, Under Armour and VICIS. Learn more at footballfoundation.org.
About the National College Football Awards Association
The William V. Campbell Trophy® is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 23 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.
