East Carolina wide receiver Zay Jones has been named as one of 12 finalists, spanning all divisions of college football, for the William B. Campbell Trophy, which goes to the top scholar-athlete in the game.
Jones 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 59th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6, 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 27th
William V. Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
Selected from a nationwide pool of 156 exceptional semifinalists from among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA, the 12 finalists are:
| Scholar-Athlete |
Position |
School |
GPA |
Major |
| Chris Beaschler |
LB |
Dayton |
3.72 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Tim Crawley |
WR |
San Jose State |
3.78 |
Business Management |
| DeVon Edwards |
S |
Duke |
3.35 |
Psychology |
| Brooks Ellis |
LB |
Arkansas |
3.82 |
Exercise Science |
| Carter Hanson |
LB |
Saint John's (Minn.) |
4.00 |
Business Leadership |
| Taysom Hill |
QB |
BYU |
3.45 |
Finance |
| Ryan Janvion |
S |
Wake Forest |
3.53 |
Business Management |
| Zay Jones |
WR |
East Carolina |
3.56 |
Communications |
| Cooper Rush |
QB |
Central Michigan |
3.86 |
Actuarial Science |
| Karter Schult |
DL |
Northern Iowa |
3.87 |
Exercise Science |
| Tyler Sullivan |
QB |
Delta State (Miss.) |
3.68 |
Biology |
| Zach Terrell |
QB |
Western Michigan |
3.66 |
Finance |
"We are extremely proud to announce this year's finalists for the
Campbell Trophy, who make up the 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 of our mission of
Building Leaders Through Football, and we are excited to honor their hard work and accomplishments with postgraduate scholarships."
The recipient of the
Campbell Trophy will also be honored at the NFF Board of Directors meeting and at a reception hosted by the New York Athletic Club on Wednesday, Dec. 7. He will then fly to Atlanta to be recognized during
The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN at the College Football Hall of Fame on Dec. 8. Finally, as part of the NFF's partnership with the College Football Playoff (CFP), the
Campbell Trophy winner will be recognized on the field during the CFP National Championship on Jan. 9, 2017, in Tampa, Fla.
The 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, who passed away this year on April 18. The award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $7,000 increase in postgraduate funds for a total scholarship of $25,000. A total distribution of $223,000 in scholarships will be awarded Dec. 6, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $11.1 million.
"The NFF Awards Committee did an excellent job in selecting this year's National Scholar-Athletes," said NFF Chairman
Archie Manning, whose sons
Peyton (the 1997
Campbell winner) 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 NFF National Scholar-Athlete program, launched in 1959, became the first initiative in history to award scholar-athletes postgraduate scholarships for their combined athletic, academic and leadership abilities. Including the 2016 recipients, the NFF has honored 828 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, 175 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.
The members of this year's class find themselves among some of the most elite student-athletes in the history of the game, including NFL standout
Drew Brees (Purdue); actor
Mark Harmon (UCLA); Robert Morris University President
Chris Howard (Air Force); NCAA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs
Oliver Luck (West Virginia); NASA astronauts
Michael Hopkins (Illinois) and
Leland Melvin (Richmond); chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters Tournament,
Billy Payne (Georgia); famed NFL quarterback
Steve Young (BYU); and 34 College Football Hall of Famers, including 2016 electees
Derrick Brooks (Florida State) and
Pat McInally (Harvard).
Click here for a database of all the past NFF National Scholar-Athletes.
In 2011, the NFF and Fidelity launched a multi-year initiative between the two organizations to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal and a joint commitment to higher education. As part of the initiative, Fidelity became the first presenting sponsor ever in the history of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program. In 2014, Fidelity expanded its support, becoming the presenting sponsor of
The William V. Campbell Trophy.
Fidelity's support also includes the NFF Faculty Salutes, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with an NFF National Scholar-Athlete. As part of the initiative and with full support from the 1A FARs, the NFF presents each of the faculty representatives with a plaque and a $5,000 check from Fidelity Investments, which is used to support the academic support services for student-athletes at each school. Since the program's inception in 2011, Fidelity has committed $440,000 (including $60,000 this year) and recognized 88 FARs.
2016 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Highlights
- 3.69 Average GPA
- 12 Captains, including six players who have been captains for two or more years
- 6 Academic All-America Selections (Beaschler, Edwards, Ellis, Hanson, Rush, Schult)
- 11 Academic All-Conference Athletes
- 4 All-America picks (Edwards, Hanson, Schult, Sullivan)
- 9 All-Conference selections (including one all-independent selection)
- 5 Players Who Have Already Graduated (Crawley, Edwards, Hill, Rush, Terrell), with five more on track to graduate by this December (Beaschler, Ellis, Jones, Schult, Sullivan)
- 3 Members of Conference Championship Teams (Beaschler, Hanson, Sullivan)
- 6 Offensive Players (Crawley, Hill, Jones, Rush, Sullivan, Terrell)
- 6 Defensive Players (Beaschler, Edwards, Ellis, Hanson, Janvion, Schult)
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates 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 156 semifinalists for the award were announced on Sept. 28, and 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.
In addition to the presentation of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards and
The William V. Campbell Trophy, the 59th NFF Annual Awards Dinner will include the induction of the 2016 College Football Hall of Fame Class and the presentation of several major awards, including the organization's highest honor, the NFF Gold Medal.
Zay Jones, WR - East Carolina University
Communications - 3.56 GPA
Head Coach: Scottie Montgomery | Athletics Director: Jeff Compher
Faculty Athletics Representative: Cal Christian
Zay Jones' remarkable accomplishments rank him among the most decorated student-athletes in East Carolina history. One of only three Pirates ever with more than 3,000 receiving yards, he becomes the first NFF National Scholar-Athlete in school annals.
A 2014 First Team Academic All-District selection, Jones is a two-time member of the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. Boasting a 3.56 GPA as a communications major, the Austin, Texas, native is also a two-time Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll selection and a six-time ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll member.
A two-year team captain, Jones already ranks second in NCAA FBS history with 355 career receptions and second in Pirates' history with 3,627 yards. His 19 career receiving touchdowns are also in the top five at East Carolina, and he has 29 career kickoff returns for 598 yards. A three-year letterman, Jones was named a 2015 Second Team All-AAC honoree and ECU's Team MVP. After helping the Pirates to consecutive bowl berths, including a victory in the 2013 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, he earned the 2014 Rock Rock Roggeman Heart-of-the-Pirate Award as the team's most inspirational player. As a freshman, he was named ECU Player of the Year for receiving and was a member of the C-USA All-Freshman Team. This season, Jones currently leads the FBS with 14.2 receptions per game while his 136.8 receiving yards per game and 1,094 receiving yards stand second nationally.
Jones has devoted more than 75 hours of community service during his career, including work with Aces for Autism, SportWorks Ministries, Ronald McDonald House, Maynard Children's Hospital, National Food Bank, Dwayne Harris Football Camp and ECU Ladies Football Clinic. He has also participated in on-campus trash pick-ups, blood drives and elementary school visits, and he served as co-master of ceremonies for the 2015 ECU Goldspys (ECU's version of the ESPYs). Jones' father,
Robert, was a First Team All-American for the Pirates.