Nine Cougars named to 2017 NFF Hampshire Honor Society

IRVING, Texas – Nine BYU football players were named to the 2017 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society announced this week by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.

The 2017 NFF Hampshire Honor Society is comprised of football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college career. A total of 1,091 players from 298 schools qualified for membership in the society’s 11th year, both new single-year records in the history of the program.

“We are pleased to see a record number of colleges and universities embrace the Hampshire Honor Society this year,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “Over the past decade, it has become a powerful vehicle for schools to recognize their college football players who have distinguished themselves both academically and athletically, and we congratulate the schools and each of these young men for their commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives.”

With nine more selections this year, BYU has 50 total selections; leading all schools among FBS Division I programs since the program began in 2007.  Minnesota (43), Ohio State (40) and Nebraska (38) follow BYU’s leading mark.

BYU’s selections include defensive back Chris Badger, offensive linemen Parker Dawe and Andrew Eide, linebacker Austin Heder, quarterback Taysom Hill, wide receivers Garrett Juergens, Mitchell Juergens and Nick Kurtz, along with defensive lineman Logan Taele.

Hill, a finance major with a 3.45 GPA, was also one of 12 finalists for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy and recognized as an NFF National Scholar-Athlete in November of 2016.

BYU is one of 31 schools that have had at least one student-athlete recognized in each of the Hampshire Honor Society’s 11 years and just one of nine FBS Division I programs. Other schools include: Austin Peay State, Brown, Bucknell, Colorado, Columbia, Dayton, Huntingdon (Ala.), Iowa, Johns Hopkins (Md.), Kentucky, Lafayette, Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, Montana, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Penn State, Purdue, Redlands (Calif.), Saint John’s (Minn.), SMU, South Dakota State, Wartburg (Iowa), Washington U. in St. Louis (Mo.), Wayne State (Mich.), West Virginia, Wingate (N.C.), Yale and Youngstown State.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF’s National Scholar-Athlete program by greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization’s leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes who play football at the 777 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide.

Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include the following:

· Being a starter or a significant contributor in one’s last year of eligibility (or a senior who has declared for the NFL Draft) at an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III or an NAIA college or university

· Achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study

· Meeting all NCAA/NAIA-mandated progress towards degree requirements

The Hampshire Honor Society represents an important component in the organization's rich history as an innovator in promoting the scholar-athlete ideal, which began in 1959 with the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. Launched with a donation from Hall of Fame coach Earl “Red” Blaik, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments, became the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on a player’s combined academic success, football performance and community leadership. Since its inception, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program has awarded $11.1 million to 828 top scholars and community leaders.