Wheaton, Ill. – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that Wheaton College senior
Eric Stevenson is a 2018 NFF Scholar-Athlete, and a finalist for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy, which annually recognizes an individual as the best football scholar-athlete in the nation. Stevenson is Wheaton's first-ever NFF Scholar-Athlete honoree and the seventh honoree from the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW), since the program began in 1959. He is the first CCIW player to be a NFF Scholar-Athlete since Augustana's Erik Westerberg earned the recognition in 2013.
As one of 13 finalists for the Campbell Trophy, Stevenson will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. He will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 4, the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy® will be announced. The winner of the Campbell Trophy will have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
Stevenson holds a 3.83 cumulative grade point average as an Economics major at Wheaton. The three-year starter plans to pursue a MBA following his graduation in May. A 2018 D3football.com Preseason, All-American, Stevenson earned Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition in 2017. A 2017 All-CCIW First Team selection at linebacker, Stevenson led the Thunder in total tackles in his sophomore and junior seasons and he leads the Wheaton defense this year with 64 total tackles. He was a CoSIDA Academic All-District and D3football.com All-North Region performer in 2017. Stevenson is a three-time Academic All-CCIW selection and was Wheaton's male recipient of the Jack Swartz award in both 2017 (fall) and 2016 (fall).
Stevenson's selection as one of 13 finalists for the Campbell Trophy is the result of paring the
179 semifinalists across all NCAA Divisions and NAIA for the award (including 41 semifinalists from NCAA Division III). The Thunder team captain is the only Division III player among this year's semifinalists. This year's finalists hold an average grade point average of 3.70 and consists of six offensive players and seven defensive players. The 13 finalists for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy are:
| SCHOLAR-ATHLETE |
POSITION |
SCHOOL |
GPA |
MAJOR |
| Kenneth Brinson |
LB |
Army West Point |
3.96 |
Chemical Engineering |
| Taryn Christion |
QB |
South Dakota State |
3.61 |
Business Economics |
| De'Arius Christmas |
LB |
Grambling State |
3.82 |
Engineering Technology |
| D'Cota Dixon |
S |
Wisconsin |
3.32 |
Rehabilitation Psychology |
| Ryan Finley |
QB |
North Carolina State |
3.76 |
Psychology |
| Piercen Harnish |
LB |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
3.96 |
Finance |
| Trace McSorley |
QB |
Penn State |
3.31 |
Accounting |
| Dalton Risner |
OL |
Kansas State |
3.60 |
Communication Studies |
| Max Scharping |
OL |
Northern Illinois |
3.99 |
Kinesiology |
| Eric Stevenson |
LB |
Wheaton (Ill.) |
3.83 |
Economics |
| Easton Stick |
QB |
North Dakota State |
3.92 |
Sport Management |
| Drue Tranquill |
LB |
Notre Dame |
3.73 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Christian Wilkins |
DL |
Clemson |
3.33 |
Communication Studies |
Nominees for the Campbell Trophy
® and NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing 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 or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The Campbell Trophy
® is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the former chairman of Intuit, a former player and head coach at Columbia University. 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 $241,000 in scholarships will be awarded Dec. 4, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $11.5 million.
