Steve Hatchell, President & CEO Media Contacts: Phil Marwill | 917-579-4256 [email protected] Alan Cox | 972-556-1000 [email protected] NFF Announces Impressive List of 179 Semifinalists for 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy® Celebrating the 60th year of its National Scholar-Athlete Awards, the NFF will select 12-14 finalists, who will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and vie for college football’s premier scholar-athlete award. 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 NFF Release Page 1 of 8 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 NFF Release Page 2 of 8 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 Rob 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 Munoz (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 NFF Release Page 3 of 8 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 NFF Release Page 4 of 8 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 NFF Release Page 5 of 8 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