IRVING, Texas -- The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today the members of the 2023 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprised of college football players from all divisions of the NCAA, NAIA and sprint football who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers.
An elite group of 1,734 players from 328 schools qualified for membership in 2023, setting a new record for the number of members in a single year during the program's 17-year history. The initiative has now honored 16,370 student-athletes since its inception.
Seventeen members of the 2022 Williams Football team have been honored this year:
Brian Anderson
Christian Cuttita
Mike DeGasperis
Alex Dehmel
Rocco Giandomenico
Joel Nicholas
Braden O'Connel
Desmond O'Mahony
Nikhil Ostrander
Nick Owens
Elijah Parks
Eli Peters
Coleston Smith
Tyler Spiezio
Xander Utecht
Dan Vaughn
Josh Wax
"We are thrilled to honor another impressive group of athletes as part of this year's Hampshire Honor Society," said NFF President & CEO
Steve Hatchell. "Over the last 17 years, the Hampshire Honor Society has served as 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."
Nominated by their respective schools, members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must be either:
·
A senior player, who will graduate this spring/summer, and just completed his final year of playing eligibility in 2022; or
·
A graduated player, who has been out of high school at least (3) years;
And must have:
· Attained a minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.2 (4.0 scale); and
· Been starters or significant contributors throughout the 2022 season.
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 at the 774 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide.
FCS university Harvard led all programs with 27 members in 2023, setting an all-time single-year mark for the most honorees from one school. California led all FBS programs with 18 members; New Haven (CT) was the Division II leader with 12 members; Pomona-Pitzer (CA) led Division III with 23 honorees; Morningside (IA) boasted 19 members, the most in the NAIA; and the Cornell Sprint Football team topped the Collegiate Sprint Football League with 19 honorees.
Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided the funds to launch the NFF Hampshire Honor Society in 2007. He made the contribution as part of his legacy to the organization after serving as NFF Chairman from 1994-2006. He currently serves the organization as chairman emeritus. Each player awarded with membership in this year's Honor Society will receive a certificate commemorating his or her achievement.
"It was my great privilege to endow the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which has greatly increased the number of college student-athletes the NFF has been able to recognize during the past 17 years," said Hanson. "Nationwide there are thousands of football players excelling in the classroom, and they are going on to become great leaders."
"We have honored more than 16,000 student-athletes in the last 17 years thanks to Jon Hanson's generosity," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "We are grateful for his passionate belief in the scholar-athlete ideal, and the Hampshire Honor Society allows us to showcase the names of tomorrow's leaders while inspiring future generations to follow in their footsteps."
