DALLAS, Tex. – Senior defensive tackle Yaky Ibia of the Tigers has been selected as one of 121 semifinalists for the 2010 William V. Campbell Trophy (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy), endowed by HealthSouth, it has been announced by The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF). He is also a candidate for a 2010 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award.
An Actuarial Science major with a 3.51 G.P.A., Ibia is a three-year starter for the Tigers who was named to the Pre-Season All-Colonial Athletic Association team this summer. As a junior, he was selected to the Football Championship Subdivision Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team. Ibia was also elected to the ESPN Academic All-America? University Division District 2 All-Academic Team.
A graduate of South Lakes High School who resides in Reston, Va., Ibia is also a two-time member of the CAA All-Academic team.
One of the Tiger team captains, Ibia has made 28 tackles in six games, eighth on the team. He is second on the team with five tackles for lost yardage. Averaging 4.7 tackles per game, he ranks fourth among CAA defensive linemen. He is also tied for eighth in the CAA in tackles for lost yardage.
In his career, Ibia has played in 39 games. He has made 120 tackles, including 19.5 tackles for lost yardage.
“This year’s Campbell Trophy semifinalists embody the National Football Foundation’s mission of building leaders through football,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose 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,” he added. “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, semifinalists must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a G.P.A. 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 trophy was renamed last fall 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 NFF would like to personally congratulate each Campbell Trophy semifinalist for maintaining such high standards throughout their collegiate careers,” said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. “We are extremely proud to showcase their achievements, and there is no question that the NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the finalists from among this esteemed group.”
The NFF Awards Committee will select up to 15 finalists and announce the results via national press release on Thursday, Oct. 28.
Each finalist will be recognized as part of the 2010 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, receiving an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. The Campbell Trophy winner, who will have his scholarship increased to $25,000 and receive a 25-pound bronze trophy, will be announced live at the NFF’s Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 7 at the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. A total distribution of $277,000 in scholarships will be awarded that evening, bringing the NFF’s all-time scholarship distribution to $9.5 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 William V. 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.
The University of Florida’s Tim Tebow was named the 2009 Campbell Trophy recipient and last year’s finalists combined for a 3.77 average G.P.A. The class boasted 14 academic all-conference student-athletes, including seven Academic All-America? picks; 14 all-conference players, including six All-America picks; 16 team captains; one Heisman Trophy winner; and eight members of conference championship teams.
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); and Florida’s Tim Tebow (2009).
Ibia is one of 28 NCAA FCS scholar-athletes who are semi-finalists for the Campbell Trophy. The other semi-finalists are: Chris Blais (Albany); Bradley Williams (Austin Peay State); Kyle Newhall-Caballero (Brown); Travis Nissley (Bucknell); Greg Sullivan (Colgate); Alex Gross (Columbia); Tanner Scott (Dartmouth); Brandon Wingeier (Dayton); Pat Devlin (Delaware); Dan Clinton (Drake); Logan O’Connor (Eastern Kentucky); Bill Edger (Holy Cross); Terrence Turner (Marist); Andrew Selle (Montana); Jordan Craney (Montana State); Patrick Dolan (Nicholls State); Anthony Taylor (Norfolk State); Ty Boyle (North Dakota); Drew Hushka (North Dakota State); Michael Herrick (Northern Arizona); Timothy McGraw (Northern Colorado); Peter Buck (Sacramento State); Scott Lewis (Saint Francis); Conrad Kjerstad (South Dakota State); Tysson Poots (Southern Utah); Jesse Reising (Yale); and Stephen Blose (Youngstown State).
