FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 26, 2018) – Northern Arizona senior linebacker
Jake Casteel is one of the 179 semifinalists for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy
®, which is presented annually by The National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame to the top scholar-athlete nationally in college football.
Casteel, a native of Tucson, Ariz., is one of the 40 semifinalists named to the list that play in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). He is a three-time Big Sky All-Academic Team selection (2015, 2016, 2017) and graduated last spring with a bachelor's degree in information systems. Casteel is currently pursuing a graduate degree in educational leadership.
The senior linebacker has recorded 32 tackles over the initial four games this season, including 25 while starting each of the last two games. Casteel has amassed 192 stops in his career, including 11.5 tackles for loss.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 31, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class.
The finalists will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 4, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. During the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
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. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.5 million.
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program is celebrating its 60th year in 2018. 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 841 outstanding individuals since their inception. The Campbell Trophy®, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program's prestige, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and five first-round NFL draft picks.
2018 NFF WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® SEMIFINALISTS NOTES
- 60th Year of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Program
- 29th Year of The William V. Campbell Trophy®
- 179 Nominations
- 3.62 Average GPA
- 7 Nominees with a perfect 4.0 GPA
- 51 Nominees with a 3.8 GPA or better
- 70 Nominees with a 3.7 GPA or Better
- 29 Academic All-America Selections
- 114 Captains
- 95 All-Conference Picks
- 16 All-Americans
- 63 Nominees from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
- 40 Nominees from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
- 25 Nominees from NCAA Division II
- 41 Nominees from NCAA Division III
- 10 Nominees from the NAIA
- 81 Offensive Players
- 81 Defensive Players
- 17 Special Teams Players
