BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College is continuing its look back at the 2016-17 year with the second of two Top 10 lists, the Top 10 Stories of the Year. No. 6 on the list is senior wide receiver Jalen Snyder-Scipio being named a semifinalist for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy.
The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced the 156 semifinalists for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments®. The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation and is prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.
Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, the Campbell Trophy is a 25-pound bronze trophy and includes postgraduate scholarship of $25,000.
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.
"It was very humbling to be selected as a semifinalist, especially since the field includes all divisions of play," stated Snyder-Scipio. "What the award stands for and the values it suggests, such as academics and community service, are all things that I put at the forefront in my life. It's just such an honor to be a part of such a prestigious group."
Snyder-Scipio completed his degree in nursing at Moravian in May 2017 with a 3.63 GPA. Snyder-Scipio, who was honored on the 2016 Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship squad, was named to the Centennial Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and he was also selected to the Centennial All-Conference Second Team in 2015 as well as the Centennial All-Academic Team in 2015 for earning All-Conference and Academic Honor Roll accolades.
Snyder-Scipio served as a team captain for the Greyhounds last fall for a second straight season. He set the school record for receptions with 159 in 37 career games, and Snyder-Scipio finished his career third in school history with 16 career touchdown catches and fourth in career receiving yards with 1,803 yards. He was also honored as Moravian Blue & Grey Senior Male Scholar-Athlete this past May, part of the No. 10 story on the Top 10 Stories of 2016-17.
During the spring semester of his junior year, Snyder-Scipio traveled to Honduras on a mission trip. (visit http://moraviansports.com/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/20160504u6za1h to read more about it.)
"Time management was the key to balancing the classroom, nursing, and football," Snyder-Scipio explained. "Being able to use my time efficiently allowed me to manage all of my responsibilities, while still enjoying the time I had with my teammates and classmates. The support that I had from them, my coaches, and my professors also played a large role in what I was able to accomplish during my career.
The 156 semifinalists included 33 NCAA Division III student-athletes, and Snyder-Scipio was one of four Centennial Conference players on the list. Those 156 student-athletes have been invited to the first National Football Foundation's Campbell Trophy Summit at Stanford University from August 24-26. Snyder-Scipio, who will be an assistant coach for the Greyhounds this fall, will take a break from preseason camp and his nursing job to attend the Campbell Trophy Summit which has a speaker list that includes former NFL players Charlie Batch, Ronnie Lott and Steve Young.
The number five story in the Top 10 Stories of 2016-17 will be released on Monday, August 7.