Army West Point Athletics
Brinson Named a Campbell Trophy® Finalist
October 31, 2018 | Football
Learn More About Kenneth Brinson: BrinsonforCampbell.com
IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the finalists for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy®, and senior linebacker Kenneth Brinson was among the 13 finalists.
The Campbell Trophy® annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
The 13 finalists will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 4, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy®. The event, which will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown, will be live streamed on ESPN3, starting at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The finalists are:
"We are extremely proud to announce the finalists for this year's Campbell Trophy®, who make up the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "These young men have an unrelenting commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives, and they represent all that is right in college football. They serve as living examples that Football Matters®, and we are excited to honor their hard work and accomplishments with postgraduate scholarships."
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the Campbell Trophy® and NFF National Scholar-Athlete 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 NFF Awards Committee did an excellent job in selecting this year's National Scholar-Athletes," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® recipient) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "Selected from an impressive group of semifinalists, they should be extremely proud of their accomplishments, as they have undoubtedly distinguished themselves as some of the best student-athletes in the country. Each of these men is also a leader in his respective community, and we know that they have only begun to reach their potential."
The Campbell Trophy® is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the former chairman of Intuit, a former player and head coach at Columbia University, and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal. The award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy.
Following the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, the 2018 Campbell Trophy® recipient will be honored at several other prestigious events. On Wednesday, Dec. 5, the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) will host a luncheon in his honor. From there, he will travel directly to Atlanta for ESPN's The Home Depot College Football Awards at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday, Dec. 6, where he will be interviewed live during the show. Finally, he will travel to Santa Clara, California, to be honored on the field during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's® Stadium on Monday, Jan. 7.
The NFF National Scholar-Athlete program, launched in 1959, became the first initiative in history to award postgraduate scholarships for combined athletic, academic and leadership abilities. Including the 2018 recipients, the NFF has honored 854 individuals with National Scholar-Athlete Awards. The honorees have used the financial support to earn more than 150 medical degrees, 100 law degrees, 80 MBAs and 43 PhDs. Continuing their excellence on the field, more than 200 recipients have played in the NFL with an average career of six seasons or double the length of a typical NFL player. Past recipients also include 13 Rhodes Scholars.
IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the finalists for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy®, and senior linebacker Kenneth Brinson was among the 13 finalists.
The Campbell Trophy® annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
The 13 finalists will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 4, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy®. The event, which will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown, will be live streamed on ESPN3, starting at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The finalists are:
| SCHOLAR-ATHLETE | POSITION | SCHOOL | GPA | MAJOR |
| Kenneth Brinson | LB | Army West Point | 3.96 | Chemical Engineering |
| Taryn Christion | QB | South Dakota State | 3.61 | Business Economics |
| De'Arius Christmas | LB | Grambling State | 3.82 | Engineering Technology |
| D'Cota Dixon | S | Wisconsin | 3.32 | Rehabilitation Psychology |
| Ryan Finley | QB | North Carolina State | 3.76 | Psychology |
| Piercen Harnish | LB | Saint Francis (Ind.) | 3.96 | Finance |
| Trace McSorley | QB | Penn State | 3.31 | Accounting |
| Dalton Risner | OL | Kansas State | 3.60 | Communication Studies |
| Max Scharping | OL | Northern Illinois | 3.99 | Kinesiology |
| Eric Stevenson | LB | Wheaton (Ill.) | 3.83 | Economics |
| Easton Stick | QB | North Dakota State | 3.92 | Sport Management |
| Drue Tranquill | LB | Notre Dame | 3.73 | Mechanical Engineering |
| Christian Wilkins | DL | Clemson | 3.33 | Communication Studies |
"We are extremely proud to announce the finalists for this year's Campbell Trophy®, who make up the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "These young men have an unrelenting commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives, and they represent all that is right in college football. They serve as living examples that Football Matters®, and we are excited to honor their hard work and accomplishments with postgraduate scholarships."
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the Campbell Trophy® and NFF National Scholar-Athlete 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 NFF Awards Committee did an excellent job in selecting this year's National Scholar-Athletes," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® recipient) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "Selected from an impressive group of semifinalists, they should be extremely proud of their accomplishments, as they have undoubtedly distinguished themselves as some of the best student-athletes in the country. Each of these men is also a leader in his respective community, and we know that they have only begun to reach their potential."
The Campbell Trophy® is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the former chairman of Intuit, a former player and head coach at Columbia University, and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal. The award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy.
Following the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, the 2018 Campbell Trophy® recipient will be honored at several other prestigious events. On Wednesday, Dec. 5, the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) will host a luncheon in his honor. From there, he will travel directly to Atlanta for ESPN's The Home Depot College Football Awards at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday, Dec. 6, where he will be interviewed live during the show. Finally, he will travel to Santa Clara, California, to be honored on the field during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's® Stadium on Monday, Jan. 7.
The NFF National Scholar-Athlete program, launched in 1959, became the first initiative in history to award postgraduate scholarships for combined athletic, academic and leadership abilities. Including the 2018 recipients, the NFF has honored 854 individuals with National Scholar-Athlete Awards. The honorees have used the financial support to earn more than 150 medical degrees, 100 law degrees, 80 MBAs and 43 PhDs. Continuing their excellence on the field, more than 200 recipients have played in the NFL with an average career of six seasons or double the length of a typical NFL player. Past recipients also include 13 Rhodes Scholars.
Players Mentioned
LB
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