FULL NFF NATIONAL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE RELEASE

DALLAS, Sept. 27, 2012 - Selected as the best and brightest from the college gridiron, The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the 146 candidates for the 2012 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. Only 11 nominees came from Division II and Harding's Josh Aldridge joined these elite lists.

The 146 nominees also comprise the list of semifinalists for the 2012 William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. 

"This year's candidates truly embody the National Football Foundation's mission of building leaders through football," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton (1997 Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "They are standouts in the classroom and on the field and have become leaders in their respective communities. Each school should take great pride in being represented by such well-rounded young men who will undoubtedly go on to do great things in life." 

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 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. 

Aldridge's resume includes being 2nd Team CoSIDA Academic All-District VI selection in 2010, a two-time Academic All-Conference selction while on the field he earned Second Team All-GAC honors in 2011 after leading the leading the league in sacks, 7.5. This season, he has 3.0 sacks in three games.

The past recipients of the 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's (Fla.) Joaquin Gonzalez (2001); Washington University in St. Louis' 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); Cal's Alex Mack (2008); Florida's Tim Tebow (2009); Texas'Sam Acho (2010); and Army's Andrew Rodriguez (2011). 



2012 NFF NATIONAL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE CANDIDATE NOTES

·       3.57 Average GPA
·       29 nominees with a 3.80 GPA or better
·       91 Team Captains
·       74 All-Conference Picks
·       21 Academic All-America Selections
·       14 All-America Selections
·       50 Nominees from the Football Bowl Subdivision
·       35 Nominees from the Football Championship Subdivision
·       11 Nominees from the Division II
·       41 Nominees from the Division III
·       9 Nominees from the NAIA
·       68 Offensive Players
·       53 Defensive Players
·       26 Special Teams Players
 
NFF NATIONAL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARDS CANDIDATES

Division II

Adams State (Colo.) -- Jason Nottingham
Ashland (Ohio) -- Donnie Dottei
C.W. Post-LIU (N.Y.) -- Grayson Laurino
Eastern New Mexico -- Wes Wood
Harding (Ark.) -- Josh Aldridge
Missouri Univ. of Science & Tech. -- Josh Firm
Missouri Southern State -- Kellen Cox
St. Cloud State (Minn.) -- Andrew Beckmann
Wayne State (Mich.) -- Nick Thomas
West Texas A&M -- Aarone Mulane
Wingate (N.C.) -- Andrew Nallenweg
Univ. of the Cumberlands (Ky.) -- Jay Bright
William Penn (Iowa) -- Mason Woods