NEW YORK CITY (Dec. 10, 2021) – Iowa State University tight end Charlie Kolar will be honored Monday night at the famed New York Athletic Club, the official home of The William V. Campbell Trophy®. Kolar was named the 32nd recipient of the trophy Tuesday in Las Vegas during the 63rd National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas.
 
"From a 3.99 GPA in the classroom to an All-American on the field, Charlie Kolar embodies everything great about college football," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Celebrating his accomplishments at the New York Athletic Club, one of the most prestigious athletic clubs in the nation, provides the NFF a powerful platform for holding him out as an exceptional example for aspiring young players to emulate. We are extremely grateful to the New York Athletic Club Board of Governors and their entire membership for partnering with us to stage the event."
 
The Campbell Trophy® ranks as one of college football's most sought after and competitive awards, recognizing an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. Awarded since 1990, the 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy comes with a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship.
 
The first two-time First Team Academic All-American in Iowa State history, Kolar graduated summa cum laude in December 2020 with a 3.99 GPA in mechanical engineering while ranking in the highest two percent of engineering students at the university. He is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in finance.

This season, Kolar is second at Iowa State and ranks fifth in the Big 12 with 723 receiving yards while being tied for the team lead and being tied for fifth in the conference with five receiving touchdowns. The team captain has set new school single-season tight end records for receptions (58) and receiving yards (723) while guiding the Cyclones to a 7-5 regular-season record in 2021.
 
The Cyclones will conclude their season against Clemson in the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at 5:45 p.m. ET at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. ESPN will broadcast the game.
 
A two-time All-American, Kolar earned Second Team honors from AFCA, FWAA and Walter Camp in 2020 and Third Team accolades from the AP in 2019. The two-time Mackey Award finalist is a three-time First Team All-Big 12 selection (2019, 2020, 2021), and he received second team all-conference laurels in 2018.
 
Just the seventh Cyclone to reach 2,000 career receiving yards, Kolar owns virtually all school career records for tight ends, compiling the most receptions (164), receiving yards (2,148) and touchdowns (22). Among all receivers at Iowa State, his career receptions rank fourth, his receiving yards are fifth and his touchdowns rank third.
 
A member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Kolar has volunteered at Mary Greeley Hospital and read to children at a local elementary school. He has also participated in Marshalltown tornado relief, as well as service with Victory Day and ExerCYse Time.
 
As part of being recognized as the 2021 Campbell Trophy® recipient, Kolar was also interviewed live last night during the virtual "The Home Depot College Football Awards" on ESPN, and he will travel to Indianapolis to be honored on the field during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on Jan. 10.

Launched in 1959 and celebrating its 63rd year in 2021, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program became the first initiative in history to award postgraduate scholarships based on a player's combined academic, athletic and leadership accomplishments, and the program has awarded $12.1 million to 891 top athletes since its inception. Candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average 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 centerpiece to the NFF's scholar-athlete program, the William V. Campbell Trophy® was first awarded in 1990. It is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal.
 
An All-Ivy League player and the captain of Columbia's 1961 Ivy League championship team, Bill Campbell found his true calling after an unlikely career change at age 39 from Columbia football coach to advertising executive. Known as the "Coach of Silicon Valley," his ability to recruit, develop and manage talented executives – all lessons learned on the gridiron – proved to be a critical component of his ability to inspire his business teams to the highest levels of success.
 
Campbell joined the NFF Board in 1978 while he was still a coach at Columbia, and he continued to serve with distinction until his passing in 2016. In 2004, the NFF recognized Campbell's contributions and accomplishments by presenting him with the NFF Gold Medal, the organization's highest honor. In 2009, the NFF renamed college football's premier scholar-athlete award as The William V. Campbell Trophy® in his honor.
 
Past Recipients of The William V. Campbell Trophy®
 

• Chris Howard (Air Force, 1990 - University President)
• Brad Culpepper (Florida, 1991 - Attorney)
• Jim Hansen (Colorado, 1992 - Climatologist)
• Thomas Burns (Virginia, 1993 - Engineering Executive)
• Robert Zatechka (Nebraska, 1994 - Physician)
• Bobby Hoying (Ohio State, 1995 - Real Estate Executive)
• Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1996 - Non-Profit Executive Director)
• Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997 - TV Personality & Philanthropist)
• Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia, 1998 - Insurance Executive & TV Broadcaster)
• Chad Pennington (Marshall, 1999 - High School Football Coach)
• Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska, 2000 - Youth Football Coach)
• Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami [FL], 2001 - Corporate Executive)
• Brandon Roberts (Washington University in St. Louis [MO], 2002 - Physician)
• Craig Krenzel (Ohio State, 2003 - Insurance Executive)
• Michael Munoz (Tennessee, 2004 - Sports & Entertainment Executive)
• Rudy Niswanger (LSU, 2005 - Corporate Executive)
• Brian Leonard (Rutgers, 2006 - Real Estate Executive)
• Dallas Griffin (Texas, 2007 - Corporate Executive)
• Alex Mack (California, 2008 - NFL Player)
• Tim Tebow (Florida, 2009 - Non-Profit Chairman & TV Broadcaster)
• Sam Acho (Texas, 2010 - Humanitarian & TV Broadcaster)
• Andrew Rodriguez (Army West Point, 2011 - U.S. Army Captain & Graduate Student)
• Barrett Jones (Alabama, 2012 - Financial Advisor & Broadcaster)
• John Urschel (Penn State, 2013 - Mathematician)
• David Helton (Duke, 2014 - MBA Candidate)
• Ty Darlington (Oklahoma, 2015 - College Football Assistant Coach)
• Zach Terrell (Western Michigan, 2016 - Executive Development Associate)
• Micah Kiser (Virginia, 2017 - NFL Player)
• Christian Wilkins (Clemson, 2018 - NFL Player)
• Justin Herbert (Oregon, 2019 - NFL Player)
• Brady White (Memphis, 2020 - Doctoral Student)