IRVING, Texas (April 8, 2026) – At a time of significant change across college football, the National Football Foundation (NFF) is marking 20 years of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society and recognizing academic excellence across the sport, reinforcing a consistent truth: football continues to develop disciplined, educated leaders at scale.
 
Celebrating its 20^th year, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society has recognized 23,568 student-athletes from 691 schools since 2007. The 2026 class, which includes a record 2,596 players from 365 schools, represents the largest group in the program's history and underscores the sustained academic achievement taking place across all levels of college football. Click here for the 2026 list of members.
 
"Twenty years ago, college coaches around the country came to the National Football Foundation asking us to recognize not just their top student-athlete, but the numerous student-athletes on their teams who were also excelling at the highest levels in the classroom," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Their voices led to the creation of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, and two decades later, the results speak for themselves. Year after year, we continue to see remarkable academic achievements across college football."
 
Created in 2007, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society is one of the most comprehensive scholar-athlete initiatives in college athletics, recognizing football players from all divisions who have maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or higher throughout their college careers. Click here for the full criteria and history.
 
"To see this program reach 20 years with a record number of honorees is really special," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "As the world of college football faces an era of transition, one thing remains the same: the game's ability to develop well-rounded student-athletes committed to excellence in the classroom as well as on the field. The NFF Hampshire Honor Society provides an important platform for us to recognize the value of the game in developing leaders while shining a light on their individual accomplishments."
 
 
--3,568 members from 691 schools honored all-time (click here for all-time school totals):

• FBS – 5,691 honorees (every FBS school represented)
• FCS – 5,081 honorees
• Division II – 2,333 honorees
• Division III – 9,278 honorees
• NAIA – 999 honorees
• Sprint – 249 honorees (added to program in 2021)

-- A 652 percent increase in membership between 2007, the inaugural year, and 2026.

-- Twenty-three (23) colleges and universities have had at least one player in all 20 years of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society (2007-26): BYU, Brown, Bucknell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Dayton, Iowa, Johns Hopkins (MD), Kentucky, Lafayette, Minnesota, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Penn State, Redlands (CA), Saint John's (MN), SMU, South Dakota State, Wayne State (MI), West Virginia, Wingate (NC), Yale and Youngstown State.

-- Top ten schools with the most honorees during the past 20 years:

• Brown – 240 members
• Saint John's (MN) – 228 members
• Harvard – 219 members
• Dayton – 213 members
• Johns Hopkins (MD) – 213 members
• Washington in St. Louis (MO) – 185 members
• St. Thomas – 182 members
• Central (IA) – 173 members
• Yale – 168 members
• Nebraska Wesleyan – 167 members

-- Eight members of the NFF College Football Hall of Fame—Graham Harrell (Texas Tech), James Laurinaitis (Ohio State), Andrew Luck (Stanford), Alex Mack (California), Paul Posluszny (Ohio State), Tim Tebow (Florida), Joe Thomas (Wisconsin), Danny Woodhead (Chadron State [NE])

-- Nineteen NFF Campbell Trophy^® recipients, including Sam Acho (Texas), Jack Campbell (Iowa), Justin Herbert (Oregon) and Bo Nix (Oregon)

-- Seven Heisman Trophy winners—Sam Bradford (Oklahoma), Joe Burrow (LSU), Robert Griffin III (Baylor), Marcus Mariota (Oregon), Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), Tim Tebow (Florida), Bryce Young (Alabama)

-- Oscar winner Ryan Coogler (Sacramento State) 

-- Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle (Florida State)

-- Three current college head coaches: Marcus Freeman (Ohio State), Kirby Moore (Boise State) and Will Stein (Louisville) 

-- An NFL Head Coach: Klint Kubiak (Colorado State) 

-- An NFL General Manager: Andrew Berry (Harvard)

-- Current NFL Notables: Garett Bolles (Utah), Brock Bowers (Georgia), Kirk Cousins (Michigan State), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State), Jalen Hurts (Alabama, Oklahoma), Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan), Daniel Jones (Duke), Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Brock Purdy (Iowa State) and Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon)

-- Broadcasters Emmanuel Acho (Texas), Roddy Jones (Georgia Tech), brothers Devin and Jason McCourty (Rutgers), Greg McElroy (Alabama), Jordan Rodgers (Vanderbilt)
   
-- Click here for the 2026 list of members.

-- 2,596 honorees (all-time single-year record for membership) representing 365 schools

-- 3.57 average GPA

-- 26% have served as a captain

-- 1,251 offensive players | 1,089 defensive players | 256 special teams players

-- 102 schools had at least 10 honorees in 2026

-- Six (6) divisions of football represented:

            FBS – 853 honorees

• Rutgers led all FBS programs with 21 honorees
• Most inductees all-time from the FBS, eclipsing 800 honorees for the first time
• 125-of-136 FBS schools had an honoree, marking a 92% participation rate in the division
• 100% school participation among all Power Four (P4) conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC) as well as the Mid-American (MAC) the Mountain West

             FCS – 497 honorees

• East Texas A&M led all FCS programs with 20 honorees 

            Division II – 267 honorees

• Hillsdale (MI) topped Division II with 17 honorees
• Most inductees all-time from Division II, eclipsing 250 honorees for the first time

          Division III – 876 honorees

• Case Western (OH) led Division III with 23 honorees, the most members from a single institution overall (among all divisions) in 2026

         NAIA – 68 honorees

• Grand View (IA) led the NAIA with 11 members

         Sprint – 35 honorees

• Cornell topped all sprint teams with 12 honorees

-- NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: Indiana (FBS), Montana State (FCS), Ferris State [MI] (DII), Wisconsin-River Falls (DIII) and Grand View [IA] (NAIA) combined for a total of 47 honorees representing the 2025 national title teams.
 
-- 16 earned FBS All-America status, including seven (7) consensus All-American

-- 6 Won College Football Major Awards:

• Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) – Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Player of the Year, Walter Camp Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien Award, Manning Award
• Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt) – NFF Campbell Trophy, Mackey Award
• Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech) – Bednarik Award, Butkus Award, Lombardi Award, Nagurski Award
• Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) – Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
• Kaleb Blaha (Wisconsin-River Falls) – Gagliardi Trophy (Division III Football Player of the Year)
• Jackson Waring (Grand View [IA]) – Rawlings-NAIA Football Player of the Year (back-to-back winner)

ABOUT THE HAMPSHIRE FOUNDATION
The Hampshire Foundation is the charitable arm of The Hampshire Companies, a privately-held, fully-integrated real estate firm that has more than 60 years of hands-on, cycle-tested experience in acquiring, developing, leasing, repositioning, managing, financing and disposing of real estate. Founded by Jon F. Hanson, who served as NFF Chairman from 1994-2006, Hampshire is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. Learn more at www.hampshirere.com.
 
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 journalist Grantland Rice, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) is a nonprofit organization that leverages the power of amateur football to build leaders. With 120 chapters in 47 states, the NFF oversees initiatives such as the NFF College Hall of Fame, the NFF William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments, Future For Football, and I Played. Learn more at footballfoundation.org and follow @NFFNetwork on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.