Dallas, Texas----Wingate University senior running back Andrew Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.) has been named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by the National Football Foundation. Endowed by HealthSouth, the Campbell Trophy recognizes the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
 
In addition to his semifinalist candidacy for the Campbell Trophy (previously known as the Draddy Trophy), Nallenweg is also eligible for a 2012 NFF Scholar-Athlete Award. A total of 147 semifinalists were announced; 11 football student-athletes from NCAA Division II made the list.
 
Semifinalists are nominated by their sports information directors. Semifinalists must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a 3.2 GPA (or better), have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
 
Nallenweg and the 2012 Bulldogs are undefeated in SAC play (2-0 SAC, 3-2 overall) entering Saturday’s home game versus Mars Hill (1:30 p.m. kick-off). This year, the four-year letter winner has 28 rushes for 71 yards and three touchdowns. He has caught eight passes for 121 yards and two scores.
 
In 2011, Nallenweg was the leading rusher for the Bulldogs with 415 yards. He had a season-high 120 all-purpose yards (53 rushing, 67 receiving) in a 33-21 home victory over Carson-Newman. Nallenweg recorded 34 receptions for 329 yards and two touchdowns during the 2011 campaign. His four TDs in four 2011 games led to four Wingate victories.
 
Nallenweg was named to the Capital One Academic All-Super Region 2 team in 2011. His stellar blocking helped Nelson Woods (’11) rush for 1000 yards in 2010, paving the way for the school’s first SAC title and first NCAA play-off berth. Nallenweg’s brother (Robbie) is a redshirt junior quarterback for Wingate. In the classroom, Andrew Nallenweg has a 3.407 GPA with a Biology major.
 
Wingate’s Cody Haffly (’11, Locust Grove, Ga.) and Ryan Webber (’10, Concord, N.C.) were semifinalists for the 2011 and the 2009 William V. Campbell Trophies, respectively. Andrew Nallenweg is one of 11 NCAA Division II student-athletes on this year’s list. Two of the 11 represent Super Region Two: Nallenweg and Harding (Ark.) senior defensive lineman Josh Aldridge.
 
WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY
NCAA DIVISION II SEMI-FINALISTS

School - Nominee
Adams State (Colo.) - Jason Nottingham
Ashland (Ohio) - Donnie Dottei
C.W. Post-LIU (N.Y.) - Grayson Laurino
Eastern New Mexico - Wes Wood
Harding (Ark.) - Josh Aldridge
Missouri Science & Technology - Josh Firm
Missouri Southern State - Kellen Cox
St. Cloud State (Minn.) - Andrew Beckmann
Wayne State (Mich.) - Nick Thomas
West Texas A&M - Aarone Mulane
Wingate (N.C.) - Andrew Nallenweg

2012 NFF NATIONAL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE CANDIDATE NOTES
3.57 Average GPA
29 nominees with a 3.80 GPA or better
91 Team Captains
74 All-Conference Picks
21 Academic All-America Selections
14 All-America Selections
50 Nominees from the Football Bowl Subdivision
35 Nominees from the Football Championship Subdivision
11 Nominees from the Division II
41 Nominees from the Division III
9 Nominees from the NAIA
68 Offensive Players
53 Defensive Players
26 Special Teams Players
 
ABOUT THE CAMPBELL TROPHY AND
THE NFF NATIONAL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARDS
 
“This year's candidates truly embody the National Football Foundation’s mission of building leaders through football,” NFF Chairman Archie Manning says. Manning’s sons Peyton (1997 Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. “They are standouts in the classroom and on the field and have become leaders in their respective communities. Each school should take great pride in being represented by such well-rounded young men who will undoubtedly go on to do great things in life.”

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.

"The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees for maintaining such high standards throughout their collegiate careers,” NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell says. “We are extremely proud to showcase their achievements; there is no question that the NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the final group of honorees from among this esteemed group.”

The NFF Awards Committee will select up to 16 recipients. Each recipient will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship; they will vie as finalists for the 2012 William V. Campbell Trophy. Each member of the 2012 National Scholar-Athlete Class will also travel to New York City to be honored Dec. 4 during the 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. One member of the class will also be announced live at the event as the winner of the Campbell Trophy.

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 award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total post-graduate scholarship of $25,000. A total distribution of $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $10.1 million.

Launched in 1959, the NFF scholar-athlete program became the first initiative in history to award post-graduate scholarships based on both a player’s academic and athletic accomplishments. The Campbell Trophy, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program’s mystique, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and five first-round NFL draft picks.

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 54-year history of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program.
 
Fidelity also helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes Initiative, which recognizes the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with an NFF National Scholar-Athlete. As part of the initiative, the NFF will present each of the faculty representatives with a plaque and a $5,000 check from Fidelity Investments to support the academic support services for student-athletes at each school.

The past recipients of the Campbell Trophy include: Air Force’s Chris Howard (1990); Florida’s Brad Culpepper (1991); Colorado’s Jim Hansen (1992); Virginia’s Thomas Burns (1993); Nebraska’s Rob Zatechka (1994); Ohio State’s Bobby Hoying (1995); Florida’s Danny Wuerffel (1996); Tennessee’s Peyton Manning (1997); Georgia’s Matt Stinchcomb (1998); Marshall’s Chad Pennington (1999); Nebraska’s Kyle Vanden Bosch (2000); Miami’s (Fla.) Joaquin Gonzalez (2001); Washington University in St. Louis’ Brandon Roberts (2002); Ohio State’s Craig Krenzel (2003); Tennessee’s Michael Munoz (2004); LSU’s Rudy Niswanger (2005); Rutgers’ Brian Leonard (2006); Texas’ Dallas Griffin (2007); Cal’s Alex Mack (2008); Florida’s Tim Tebow (2009); Texas’ Sam Acho (2010); and Army’s Andrew Rodriguez (2011).
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, ranked as the 6th “best value” in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves 2,648 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 34 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy and education. With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life.
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 20 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past six years.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing private colleges in the 2000’s with 50 selections. Among North Carolina’s colleges and universities, Wingate’s 50 Academic All-America® honorees are first during this millennium. Wingate’s 59 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.
 
WINGATE SPORTS WEEKLY
 
The Wingate University Bulldog Club invites fans to have dinner Monday night at Buddy’s Point Restaurant and Tavern in downtown Monroe (350 E. Franklin St., Monroe, NC 28112). Enjoy dinner at 6 p.m. and watch a live radio broadcast of The Joe Reich Show heard on WIXE-AM 1190. Wingate play-by-play Voice of the Bulldogs Ryan Brown will host The Joe Reich Show, also available on the web at Stretch Internet.
 
Brown and Wingate Athletic Foundation and Bulldog Club director Bill Nash will host Wingate Sports Weekly (WSW) tonight from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m., providing updates on the fall sports teams throughout the course of their seasons.
 
SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION SLATED FOR OCT. 20
 
Three new members will be added to a prestigious and impressive list during the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday morning, Oct. 20. In addition, the University will recognize the Ron Smarr-coached men’s tennis teams as Teams of Distinction during the event. The Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame is sponsored this year by OrthoCarolina.