The National Football Foundation announced today that Clemson wide receiver Will Swinney has been named a semifinalist for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy. A full press release with additional information from the NFF is included below.
IRVING, Texas (Oct. 1, 2020) –The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) proudly announced today an all-time record of 199 semifinalists for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, establishing an exciting new highwater mark for one of college football’s most sought-after and coveted awards.
“This is terrific news. To set a record for the number of Campbell nominees is extra special during the pandemic because it shows how the stature of the award continues to rise even during these challenging times,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. “We have worked hard to expand the profile of the award, and it’s extremely gratifying to have so many schools participate this year with nominations. We believe it sends an important message to the younger student-athletes that you truly can do it all, succeeding on the field, in the classroom and as leaders in the community.”
Celebrating its 31st year, the award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. The NFF will announce 12-to-14 finalists in November, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2020 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. Later this year, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 31st Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, having his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000 and receiving his own 25-pound-bronze version of the iconic statue.
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.
“It is wonderful to see a record number of semifinalists for the Campbell Trophy® during such a turbulent year, proving the Future for Football is bright,” 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.”
In September 2019, Mazda announced a three-year partnership to become the presenting sponsor of the Campbell Trophy®, kicking off the automaker’s Power of Potential Platform. Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of workplace savings plans in higher education, serves as the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards.
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 62nd year in 2020. 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 866 outstanding individuals since the program’s inception. This year’s postgraduate scholarships will push the program’s all-time distribution to more than $11.9 million. The trophy was first awarded in 1990, adding to the program’s prestige. Past recipients include two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and seven first-round NFL draft picks.
Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the trophy has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club since 2013, and the winner is honored each year during a special luncheon at the venue.
An All-Ivy League player and the captain of Columbia’s 1961 Ivy League championship team, Bill Campbell found his true calling after an unlikely career change at age 39 from Columbia football coach to advertising executive. His ability to recruit, develop and manage talented executives – all lessons learned on the gridiron – proved to be a critical component of his ability to inspire his business teams to the highest levels of success.
As the CEO and chairman of Intuit, Campbell’s unique talent in building teams allowed him to become one of the most influential individuals in Silicon Valley, using the lessons of the gridiron to mentor Steve Jobs of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Sundar Pichai and Eric Schmidt of Google, Scott Cook and Brad Smith of Intuit, John Doerr of Kleiner-Perkins, Dick Costolo at Twitter, Diane Greene of VMWare and countless others. His contributions were recently captured in a book titled “The Trillion Dollar Coach,” and during his lifetime, he affectionally became known as the “Coach of Silicon Valley.”
Campbell joined the NFF Board in 1978 while he was still a coach at Columbia, and he continued to serve with distinction until his passing in 2016. In 2004, the NFF recognized Campbell’s contributions and accomplishments by presenting him with the NFF Gold Medal, the organization’s highest honor. In 2009, the NFF renamed college football’s premier scholar-athlete award as The William V. Campbell Trophy® in his honor.
2020 WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® PRESENTED BY MAZDA SEMIFINALISTS NOTES
The past recipients of the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, include:
1990 – Chris Howard (Air Force)1991 – Brad Culpepper (Florida)1992 – Jim Hansen (Colorado)1993 – Thomas Burns (Virginia)1994 – Rob Zatechka (Nebraska)1995 – Bobby Hoying (Ohio State)1996 – Danny Wuerffel (Florida)1997 – Peyton Manning (Tennessee)1998 – Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia)1999 – Chad Pennington (Marshall)2000 – Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska)2001 – Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami [FL])2002 – Brandon Roberts (Washington U. in St. Louis [MO])2003 – Craig Krenzel (Ohio State)2004 – Michael Munoz (Tennessee)2005 – Rudy Niswanger (LSU)2006 – Brian Leonard (Rutgers)2007 – Dallas Griffin (Texas)2008 – Alex Mack (California)2009 – Tim Tebow (Florida);2010 – Sam Acho (Texas)2011 – Andrew Rodriguez (Army West Point)2012 – Barrett Jones (Alabama)2013 – John Urschel (Penn State)2014 – David Helton (Duke)2015 – Ty Darlington (Oklahoma)2016 – Zach Terrell (Western Michigan)2017 – Micah Kiser (Virginia)2018 – Christian Wilkins (Clemson)2019 – Justin Herbert (Oregon)
SEMIFINALISTS FOR THE 2020 WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® PRESENTED BY MAZDA
Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
Air Force – Ben PetersonAlabama – Landon DickersonAppalachian State – Cole GarrisonArkansas – Grant MorganArkansas State – Forrest MerrillBoise State – Kekaula KanihoBoston College – Zion JohnsonBowling Green State – Matt NaranjoBuffalo – Zac LefebvreCalifornia – Michael SaffellCharlotte – Tyriq HarrisCincinnati – James SmithClemson – Will SwinneyCoastal Carolina – Tarron JacksonColorado – Matt LynchConnecticut – Brian KeatingDuke – Michael Carter IIEast Carolina – Jake VerityEastern Michigan – Thomas OdukoyaFlorida – Jeremiah MoonFlorida Atlantic – John MitchellFresno State – Matt SmithGeorgia – Prather HudsonGeorgia Southern – Shai WertsGeorgia State – Jonathan IfediHouston – Kyle PorterIllinois – Blake HayesIndiana – Harry CriderIowa State – Chase AllenKansas – Sam BurtKansas State – Tyler BurnsKentucky – Luke FortnerLouisiana – Cameron SolomonLSU – Liam ShanahanMemphis – Brady WhiteMichigan – Will HartMichigan State – Dom LongMinnesota – Conner OlsonMississippi – Luke LoganMississippi State – K.J. CostelloNavy – Cameron KinleyNebraska – Ben StilleNevada – Sam HammondNew Mexico State – Jared WyattNorthern Illinois – Matt FerenceNorthwestern – Tyler GillikenNotre Dame – Robert HainseyOhio State – Drue ChrismanOklahoma State – Logan CarterOld Dominion – Jordan YoungOregon – Brady BreezeOregon State – Andrzej Hughes-MurrayPittsburgh – Jimmy MorrisseyRice – Blaze AlldredgeRutgers – Billy TaylorSan Jose State – Jack SnyderSouth Alabama – Brian AnkersonSouth Carolina – Parker WhiteSouth Florida – Trent SchneiderSouthern California – Erik KrommenhoekSouthern Methodist – Tyler PageSouthern Mississippi – Jack AbrahamStanford – Jet TonerSyracuse – Kingsley JonathanTemple – Isaiah Graham-MobleyTennessee – Brandon KennedyTexas – Sam EhlingerTexas A&M – Dan Moore Jr.Texas at San Antonio – Hunter DuplessisTexas Tech – McLane MannixToledo – Bryce HarrisTroy – Cameron KayeTulane – Chase KuerschenUAB – Jacob FuquaUCF – Greg McCraeUNLV – Charles WilliamsUtah – Drew LiskUtah State – Chase NelsonVirginia – Joey BlountWashington – Elijah MoldenWest Virginia – Sean MahoneWestern Kentucky – Steven WitchoskeyWestern Michigan – Mike CaliendoWisconsin – Jack CoanWyoming – Skyler Miller
Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
Abilene Christian – Jack GibbensAlabama State – Ezra GrayAustin Peay State – Blake MitchellBrown – E.J. PerryBucknell – Rick MottramCampbell – Levi WigginsChattanooga – Bryce NunnellyColgate – Grant BrenemanColumbia – Ben MathiasmeierCornell – Maxton EdgerlyDartmouth – Drew EstradaDavidson – Wesley DuggerDayton – Brandon EasterlingDrake – Victor JergensDuquesne – Spencer DeMedalEastern Illinois – Harry WoodberyElon – Davis CheekFlorida A&M – Chris FaddoulHarvard – Eric WilsonHoly Cross – Connor DegenhardtIllinois State – Drew HimmelmanLamar – Bailey GiffenLehigh – Pete HaffnerMarist – Grant DixonMontana – Samori ToureMontana State – Kyle FinchNorfolk State – Marque EllingtonNorth Alabama – K.J. SmithNorth Dakota State – Matt BieglerNorthern Arizona – DJ ArnsonNorthern Iowa – Brawntae WellsNorthwestern State – Gavin LandryPennsylvania – Prince EmiliSaint Francis – Sam CummingsSan Diego – Kama KamakaSouth Dakota – Jack CochraneSouth Dakota State – Logan BackhausStetson – Alex BrownStony Brook – TJ MorrisonTowson – Aaron GrzymkowskiWeber State – Ty WhitworthWestern Carolina – Grady ThomasWestern Illinois – Clint RatkovichWilliam & Mary – Andrew TrainerYoungstown State – Christian Turner
Division II
Ashland (OH) – Logan BolinBentley (MA) – Andrew BrazickiCalifornia (PA) – Eric HudanickEmporia State (KS) – Jace McDownFrostburg State (MD) – Aizsha HorneGrand Valley State (MI) – Tyler BradfieldHarding (AR) – Mills BryantKutztown (PA) – Mason McElroyMinnesota State – JD EkowaNorthwest Missouri State – Jackson BarnesSioux Falls (SD) – Jack SchelhaasSouthern Arkansas – Hayden MallorySouthwest Minnesota State – Trey SachsStonehill (MA) – Derek IveyTexas A&M-Commerce – Alex ShillowTusculum (TN) – Jackson CauthenValdosta State (GA) – Brian SaundsWayne State (MI) – Lane PotterWest Texas A&M – Josiah PenningtonWingate (NC) – Andrew Strickland
Division III
Augustana (IL) – Alek JacobsBerry (GA) – Jack CarrollBowdoin (ME) – Nicholas LeahyCase Western Reserve (OH) – Travis JohnstonCentral (IA) – Blaine HawkinsConcordia (WI) – Connor StomingDePauw (IN) – Jackson HamerslyFranklin and Marshall (PA) – Garrett PershyGallaudet (DC) – Cress FisherGrinnell (IA) – Rick JohnsonHampden-Sydney (VA) – Tyler HowertonHardin-Simmons (TX) – Jamie PogueHobart (NY) – Kyle HackettIthaca (NY) – Andrew VitoLake Forest (IL) – John ColasaccoLycoming (PA) – Kyle PierceMassachusetts Dartmouth – Jacob BurkheadMiddlebury (CT) – Pete HugginsMillsaps (MS) – Drew HopkinsMoravian (PA) – Jackson BuskirkOhio Wesleyan – Lucas CooperRedlands (CA) – Calhoun HelmbergerRhodes (TN) – Mitch BatschelettSaint John’s (MN) – Chris BackesShenandoah (VA) – Jack MassieSpringfield (MA) – AJ SmithSt. Thomas (MN) – Zach BennettSUNY Maritime – Liam McManusTrinity (TX) – Michael EdmonsonTufts (MA) – Khalif JeterU.S. Merchant Marine Academy (NY) – Matt RestifoWashington U. in St. Louis (MO) – Andrew WhitakerWesleyan (CT) – Glenn SmithWestminster (PA) – Cameron MikaWheaton (IL) – Ryan SchwartzWidener (PA) – Ryan SteckleinWisconsin-Oshkosh – Michael OlsenWisconsin-Stout – Bailey RouxWisconsin-Whitewater – Quinn MeinerzWooster (OH) – Eric Kraus
NAIA
Dakota State (SD) – Marcus Vanden BoschEvangel (MO) – Darius LeeLindsey Wilson (KY) – Cameron DukesMontana Western – Kyle SchulteMorningside (IA) – Niklas GustavNorthwestern (IA) – Shane SolbergPeru State (NE) – Dylan DittmanSoutheastern (FL) – Cory RahmanWilliam Penn (IA) – Jace Neugebauer
