National Football Foundation’s
William V. Campbell Trophy® Celebrates 30 Years in 2019
College football’s premier scholar-athlete award, whose past recipients include Peyton Manning and Christian Wilkins, reaches significant milestone during a season celebrating the 150th anniversary of the game.
IRVING, Texas (July 30, 2019) – As college football celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019, the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame has its own milestone to celebrate. The William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award, will be presented for the 30th time this fall, and the NFF will celebrate the award and all of its past recipients throughout the upcoming season.
“All of our past Campbell Trophy® recipients and finalists represent more than just their standout athletic ability seen on the field,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, father of 1997 Campbell Trophy® recipient Peyton. “Their academic achievements and their contributions as leaders in the community send a powerful message about the young men who play our sport. They have taken full advantage of the educational opportunities created by college football, and they have created a compelling legacy for others to follow.”
The William V. 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 community leadership.
Throughout the fall, the NFF will highlight the success of the past recipients and finalists for the award through a social and digital media campaign. The year will culminate with the presentation of the 30th Campbell Trophy® during the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10 at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City.
“The Campbell Trophy® is the epitome of all that is good in the game of football,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell.”It is the only award that truly celebrates the scholar-athlete ideal, honoring the combination of on-field and academic success. As the game of college football celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019, we look forward to honoring our 30th Campbell Trophy® recipient while shining a light on all of our past winners and finalists, who stand as perfect examples for the next generation to emulate.”
The 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. The award, which is proudly supported by Fidelity Investments and prominently displayed at the New York Athletic Club, comes with a 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship.
The recipient of the trophy is selected each year from an outstanding group of finalists from all levels of the NCAA and NAIA, who are all honored at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in December. Each finalist receives an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. During the event, one member of the class is selected as the recipient of the Campbell Trophy® as the best football scholar-athlete in the nation and has his postgraduate scholarship increased to a total of $25,000.
The Campbell Trophy® serves as the centerpiece of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program, which was launched in 1959 as the first initiative in history to award postgraduate scholarships based on a player’s combined academic, athletic and community accomplishments, and the program has awarded $11.5 million to 854 top athletes since its inception.
Candidates for the Campbell Trophy® and NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards 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.
Nominations for the 30th Campbell Trophy® are now being accepted through Aug. 30. Sports information directors at all levels of the NCAA and NAIA should contact Hillary Jeffries at [email protected] to receive a nomination form or if they have any questions.
With an average GPA of 3.74, past Campbell Trophy® recipients include two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist and two Heisman Trophy winners. Six have been first round NFL Draft picks, with 19 of the 29 winners making their mark in the NFL.
If you hold the title Campbell Trophy® recipient, you are one of the following: a university president, a doctor, a lawyer, a world-wide leader in climatology research, a PhD nuclear engineer executive, a partner in a highly successful real estate firm, a director with a non-profit foundation, high school football coach, television broadcaster, corporate executive, minor league baseball player, assistant college football coach, U.S. Army captain, PhD candidate at MIT or a financial advisor, and that does not include the four recipients still playing in the NFL.
Past Recipients of The William V. Campbell Trophy®
• Chris Howard (Air Force, 1990 – University President)
• Brad Culpepper (Florida, 1991 – Attorney)
• Jim Hansen (Colorado, 1992 – Leader in Climatology Research)
• 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 – Retired NFL Player & Philanthropist)
• Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia, 1998 – Insurance Executive & TV Broadcaster)
• Chad Pennington (Marshall, 1999 – Non-Profit President/High School Football Coach)
• Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska, 2000 – Retired NFL Player)
• 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 – Football Executive)
• Rudy Niswanger (LSU, 2005 – Corporate Executive)
• Brian Leonard (Rutgers, 2006 – Retired NFL Player & Philanthropist)
• Dallas Griffin (Texas, 2007 – Corporate Executive)
• Alex Mack (California, 2008 – NFL Player)
• Tim Tebow (Florida, 2009 – Non-Profit Chairman, TV Broadcaster & Baseball Player)
• Sam Acho (Texas, 2010 – NFL Player & Philanthropist)
• Andrew Rodriguez (Army West Point, 2011 – U.S. Army Captain)
• Barrett Jones (Alabama, 2012 – Financial Advisor & Broadcaster)
• John Urschel (Penn State, 2013 – Ph.D. Candidate, Author & Speaker)
• David Helton (Duke, 2014 – Financial Advisor)
• 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)
