Tebow Captures 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 | Football
University of Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow (Jacksonville, Fla.), arguably one of the most decorated players in college football history, became the 20th recipient of the William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, at The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame's Annual Awards Dinner in New York City on Tuesday night.
He joins former defensive tackle Brad Culpepper (1991) and fellow Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel (1996) as Gator winners of the award, which honors college football's top scholar-athlete and considered by many to be the “Academic Heisman.” Florida now boasts the most recipients in the 20-year existence of the award.
The Campbell Trophy (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy) is one of college football's most sought after and competitive awards, recognizing an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership. The award comes with a 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship. A total of $300,000 was awarded to Tebow and the other 15 Campbell Trophy finalists, who each claimed $18,000 scholarships for their post-graduate educations.
“This award means so much because it's not just how you play on the field, it's not just what you do in the classroom, but it's what you do as a leader and someone who is going to serve your community,” Tebow said. “That's what's most important about this award, because all these guys are great players and they're extremely intelligent, but more importantly, they're good people. They help their community and they make a difference in this world.”
“The National Football Foundation has done such a good job of taking us in, putting us together and letting us build relationships with each other. With so many of the members, it has been a blessing to get to know all these guys, great guys who you see on the field, but then when you really meet them, you get to know them as people, you get to build those relationships. I think that's what's so special about things like this.”
"Tim Tebow is a once in a lifetime student-athlete," said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. "Tim's unparalleled accomplishments and charisma have transcended the playing field, capturing the imagination of both young and old. We could not be prouder to have Tim as an ambassador of this award and our sport."
Boasting a 3.66 grade point average as a Family, Youth & Community Sciences major, Tebow has twice been named the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year. Based on his combined scholastic achievement and campus involvement, Tebow also recently earned induction into the University's Hall of Fame, one of the most prestigious honors awarded to students by the Division of Student Affairs at the UF. The Jacksonville, Fla., native is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and a two-time First Team Academic All-American.
As the only sophomore ever to win the Heisman, Tebow boasts two national championship titles and has also won the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, the Manning Award, back-to-back Maxwell awards in 2007 and '08, and the Sullivan Award, which is annually presented to the nation's top amateur athlete. As the undisputed leader of the nation's No. 5 team, he is the only player in NCAA history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in a season (2007) and entered his senior campaign with four NCAA, nine SEC and 23 school records. Tebow leads the Gators in both rushing and passing, accounting for more than 11,000 yards of total offense and 140 touchdowns in his career.
Tebow has spent nearly every summer of his life preaching the word of God around the country and participating in mission trips abroad. In 2009 alone, he has dedicated nearly 700 hours to community service efforts and appearances, including hospital and orphanage visits, and was named the 2008 Wuerffel Trophy recipient for his exemplary outreach. Tebow joins former Campbell Trophy winners Culpepper and Wuerffel and three others as the sixth NFF National Scholar-Athlete from Florida.
Launched in 1959, the NFF scholar-athlete program became the first initiative in history to credit a player for both academic and athletic accomplishments. The centerpiece to the NFF's scholar-athlete program, which has awarded $9.2 million to 724 top athletes, the Campbell Trophy, first awarded in 1990, was renamed this fall 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 NFF mission is to build leaders through football, and the 2009 NFF National Scholar-Athlete class members stand as a testament to that creed," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (1997 Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "We look forward to supporting the bright futures of each of these fine young men, and we take great pride in holding them out as examples of football's unique ability to build tomorrow's leaders."
Candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade-point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
The 2009 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award Recipients and Campbell Trophy Finalists include:
- Jon Asamoah - OG, University of Illinois
- Matt Bauman - LB, Brigham Young University
- Eric Decker - WR, University of Minnesota
- Moses Harris - S, Fresno State
- Tim Hiller - QB, Western Michigan University
- Paul Jasinowski - OT, Brown University
- Beau Kildow - WR, Morningside College (Iowa)
- Josh Mahoney - LB, University of Northern Iowa
- Colt McCoy - QB, University of Texas
- Jarrell NeSmith - TE, Tusculum College (Tenn.)
- Joe Pawelek - LB, Baylor University
- Todd Reesing - QB, University of Kansas
- ZaVious Robbins - WR, Hardin-Simmons University (Texas)
- Tim Tebow - QB, University of Florida
- Blaine Westemeyer - OT, Augustana College (Ill.)
- Reed Williams - LB, West Virginia
Listed in chronological order, past Campbell winners, counting two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, and a Heisman Trophy winner, include:
- Chris Howard (Air Force, 1990 - College President)
- John B. Culpepper (Florida, 1991 - Attorney)
- Jim Hansen (Colorado, 1992 - Leader in Climatological Research)
- Thomas Burns (Virginia, 1993 - Engineering Executive)
- Robert Zatechka (Nebraska, 1994 - Physician)
- Bobby Hoying (Ohio State, 1995 - Real Estate Executive)
- Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1996 - Nonprofit Executive Director)
- Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997 - NFL Player)
- Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia, 1998 - Television Broadcaster & Insurance Executive)
- Chad Pennington (Marshall, 1999 - NFL Player)
- Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska, 2000 - NFL Player)
- Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami, 2001 - Corporate Executive)
- Brandon Roberts (Washington University in St. Louis, 2002 - Physician)
- Craig Krenzel (Ohio State, 2003 - Insurance Executive)
- Michael Munoz (Tennessee, 2004 - Marketing Manager)
- Rudy Niswanger (Louisiana State University, 2005 - NFL Player)
- Brian Leonard (Rutgers University, 2006 - NFL Player)
- Dallas Griffin (University of Texas, 2007 - Corporate Finance Associate)
- Alex Mack (University of California, 2008 - NFL Player)
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