Taysom Hill named William V. Campbell Trophy Finalist and NFF National Scholar-Athlete

IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame today named BYU quarterback Taysom Hill a finalist for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments® and prominently displayed at its official home inside the New York Athletic Club. The trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. 

The 12 finalists will each 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. 

Hill is the Cougars’ fifth NFF National Scholar-Athlete, joining Matt Bauman (2009), Jared Lee (2000), Steve Young (1983) and Stephen Miller (1976). 

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. 

A finance major with a 3.45 GPA, Hill graduated in the spring of 2016. The three-year team captain ranks among the top 15 active NCAA leaders in total offense. Hill holds BYU records for rushing yards (2,584) and rushing touchdowns (29) by a quarterback, with his rushing yards total ranked seventh among all positions. For his career, the Pocatello, Idaho, native has completed 544 passes for 6,213 yards and 40 touchdowns. 

The standout quarterback has helped BYU to a bowl game every year on the field. Hill had his best season in 2013, racking up 2,938 passing yards and 19 touchdowns while adding 1,344 rushing yards for 10 touchdowns. That year, College Sports Madness named him the Independent Offensive Player of the Year. Against Houston in 2013, Hill became one of just eight FBS quarterbacks ever to have more than 400 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in a single game. 

Hill served his two-year Latter-Day Saints (LDS) mission in Australia. He previously interned with Pelion Venture Partners, a venture capital firm in Salt Lake City. Before this season, Hill changed his number to No. 7 to honor his older brother Dexter, who passed away earlier this year. 

“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.”

Selected from a nationwide pool of 156 exceptional semifinalists from among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA, the 12 finalists are: 

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, St. 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

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 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 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.