IRVING, Texas—Southeastern University redshirt senior safety Collin Thomas was named a semifinalist for the 2017 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments.
Just 181 student-athletes were chosen from the 777 four-year football institutions by The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
Thomas is one of just 10 NAIA nominees for the award. The Dillsburg, Pa. native posted a 4.0 grade point average during his undergrad as an International Business major, and is currently pursuing his Master’s of Business Administration.
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.
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, which is endowed by HealthSouth. This year’s postgraduate scholarships will push the program’s all-time distribution to more than $11.3 million. Since 2013, the Campbell Trophy® has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.
The group of semifinalists will be cut to just 12-14 finalists on November 1st, with each receiving an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as part of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete class. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 5th, with the winner announced that night, and the postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.