Contact: Lou Groce, Director of Media and Information, 920-229-8157

GRINNELL, Iowa - Two Midwest Conference student-athletes have been named semifinalists for the 2015 William V. Campbell Trophy®, presented by Fidelity Investments®, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. 

Jacob Beecher of Grinnell College and George Vidas of Lake Forest College have been named semifinalists for the award.  Up to 15 of the candidates will be named to the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, also presented by Fidelity Investments. 

The two MWC selections are among 135 candidates from all levels of the NCAA and NAIA and 27 at the NCAA Division III level. 

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 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.