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Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics
Dobson named semifinalist for Campbell Trophy
9/24/2015 11:02:00 AM | Football
Players vie for a share of $300,000 in postgraduate scholarships
IRVING, Texas – Recognizing one of the most impressive groups of scholar-athletes in the history of college football, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) proudly announced today the 135 semifinalists for the 2015 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments and prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
Georgia Southern senior safety Matt Dobson is one of those to make the cut. The Monticello, Florida, native is also one of 197 football players across all divisions to be up for the 2015 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, is one of 80 FBS players on the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, both awards given for exemplary off-the-field work, and is one of 30 up for the Senior CLASS Award. A second-team Capital One Academic All-America selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America in 2014, Dobson carries a 3.70 grade point average and was named to the Georgia Southern President's List for posting a 4.0 in the 2015 spring semester. He is also a four-year member of Georgia Southern's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and is very active in the community. He volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club and for Special Olympics and has participated in Relay for Life and Walk a Mile in Her Shoes in addition to Real Men Read and Red Ribbon Week at William James Middle School.
The NFF will announce 15 finalists on Oct. 29, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 58th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8, 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 in dramatic fashion the winner of the 26th William V. Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
"These 135 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "It is important for us to showcase their success on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders."
Named in honor of Bill Campbell, the 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. A total distribution of more than $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, pushing the program's all-time distribution to more than $11 million.
"The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on their tremendous accomplishments," 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."
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.
Georgia Southern senior safety Matt Dobson is one of those to make the cut. The Monticello, Florida, native is also one of 197 football players across all divisions to be up for the 2015 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, is one of 80 FBS players on the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, both awards given for exemplary off-the-field work, and is one of 30 up for the Senior CLASS Award. A second-team Capital One Academic All-America selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America in 2014, Dobson carries a 3.70 grade point average and was named to the Georgia Southern President's List for posting a 4.0 in the 2015 spring semester. He is also a four-year member of Georgia Southern's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and is very active in the community. He volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club and for Special Olympics and has participated in Relay for Life and Walk a Mile in Her Shoes in addition to Real Men Read and Red Ribbon Week at William James Middle School.
The NFF will announce 15 finalists on Oct. 29, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 58th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8, 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 in dramatic fashion the winner of the 26th William V. Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
"These 135 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "It is important for us to showcase their success on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders."
Named in honor of Bill Campbell, the 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. A total distribution of more than $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, pushing the program's all-time distribution to more than $11 million.
"The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on their tremendous accomplishments," 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."
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.
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