SEARCY – Harding University senior defensive end
Josh Aldridge has been selected as one of 147 semifinalists for the 2012 William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame announced the candidates Thursday.
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.
Aldridge is a native of Jackson, Tenn., and graduate of Jackson Christian School. He is one of only 11 semifinalists from NCAA Division II. Through Harding's first three games, Aldridge has nine tackles and leads the Bisons with 4.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. He is among NCAA Division II's active career leaders in both categories.
Aldridge was a 2nd Team All-Great American Conference honoree last season and has earned Academic All-District and All-Conference honors in his career. He is a social science major with a 3.27 grade point average and is currently student teaching at a local junior high school.
The NFF Awards Committee will select up to 16 recipients, and the results will be announced via a national press release on Thursday, October 25. Each recipient will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, and they will vie as finalists for the 2012 William V. Campbell Trophy.
Each member of the 2012 National Scholar-Athlete Class will also travel to New York City to be honored December 4 during the 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. One member of the class will also be announced live at the event as the winner of the Campbell Trophy.
Named 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 award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total post-graduate scholarship of $25,000. A total distribution of $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $10.1 million.
