Story courtesy of GVSU's Sports Information Department 

Willam V. Campbell Release

The National Football Foundation (NFF) announced that Grand Valley State senior linebacker Tyler Bradfield (Rockford, Mich.) is a finalist for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy, widely known as the Academic Heisman. The William V. Campbell Trophy is college football's premier scholar-athlete award that annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. Bradfield, who was also selected to the 2020 AFCA All-State Good Works Team, is GVSU's first-ever finalist for the William V. Campbell trophy. In addition, Tyler is the only Division II student-athlete to be a finalist and is one of two (Sam Ehlinger) to be a member of the 2020 AFCA Good Works Team and a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. The 12 finalists will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2020 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. Later this year, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 31st William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.

Tyler Bradfield, LB – Grand Valley State University (MI)
3.99 GPA – Finance
 
The first back-to-back Academic All-American in Grand Valley State football history, Tyler Bradfield boasts a near perfect GPA while excelling on the field. Dubbed "the most respected player in the GVSU football program" by head coach Matt Mitchell, he deservedly becomes the Lakers' first NFF National Scholar-Athlete.
 
Bradfield, who will graduate with a degree in finance in December of 2020, earned First-Team Academic All-America honors in 2019 and Second Team accolades in 2018. The Rockford, Michigan, native is a two-time, First-Team Academic All-District selection, a three-time GLIAC Academic All-Excellence Award recipient and an eight-time Dean's List honoree.
 
A 2019 team captain and GVSU Skill Defensive Player of the Year, Bradfield earned second team all-conference honors after finishing second on the team and eighth in the GLIAC in total tackles with 81 stops. He tallied 10 or more tackles three times during his junior campaign, including a season-high 14 tackles vs. Ashland (OH). 
 
As a sophomore, Bradfield received first team all-conference laurels and was named to the 2018 D2 Conference Commissioner's Second Team All-Super Region 3. That season, he led the team and finished fourth in the GLIAC with 88 tackles while guiding the Lakers to the Division II Playoffs and a No. 8 final ranking. During his standout career, Bradfield has amassed 214 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
 
A member of the GVSU Football Leadership Group, Bradfield is active off the field and was selected to the 2020 AFCA Good Works Team. For the last four years, he has participated in a three-day service trip on the facilities of Timberwolf Young Life Camp each spring. A three-year member of the GVSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Bradfield has helped the organization raise $10,000 each year for Make-a-Wish. The standout linebacker also volunteers at all summer and winter youth football camps at GVSU and has made multiple visits to Allendale Elementary School for morning greetings and reading days.

Selected from a record 199 semifinalists nationwide from among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA, the 12 finalists are:
 

 
"We are extremely proud to announce the finalists for this year's Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "These young men have an unrelenting commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives, and they represent all that is right in college football. As strong leaders in the vein of the trophy's namesake Bill Campbell, they all serve as living examples that the Future for Football is bright. We are excited to honor their hard work and outstanding leadership with postgraduate scholarships." 
 
Submitted by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the Campbell Trophy®Presented by Mazda must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing 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 NFF Awards Committee did an excellent job in selecting this year's National Scholar-Athletes," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® recipient) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "Selected from a record number of impressive semifinalists, they should be extremely proud of their accomplishments, as they have undoubtedly distinguished themselves as some of the best student-athletes in the country. Each of these men is also a leader on and off the field, and we know that they have only begun to reach their potential."
 
The Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda was first awarded in 1990, adding to the program's prestige. Past recipients include two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and seven first-round NFL draft picks.
 
The past recipients of the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, include:

1990 – Chris Howard (Air Force)
1991 – Brad Culpepper (Florida)
1992 – Jim Hansen (Colorado)
1993 – Thomas Burns (Virginia)
1994 – Rob Zatechka (Nebraska)
1995 – Bobby Hoying (Ohio State)
1996 – Danny Wuerffel (Florida)
1997 – Peyton Manning (Tennessee)
1998 – Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia)
1999 – Chad Pennington (Marshall)
2000 – Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska)
2001 – Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami [FL])
2002 – Brandon Roberts (Washington U. in St. Louis [MO])
2003 – Craig Krenzel (Ohio State)
2004 – Michael Munoz (Tennessee)
2005 – Rudy Niswanger (LSU)
2006 – Brian Leonard (Rutgers)
2007 – Dallas Griffin (Texas)
2008 – Alex Mack (California)
2009 – Tim Tebow (Florida) 
2010 – Sam Acho (Texas)
2011 – Andrew Rodriguez (Army West Point)
2012 – Barrett Jones (Alabama)
2013 – John Urschel (Penn State)
2014 – David Helton (Duke)
2015 – Ty Darlington (Oklahoma)
2016 – Zach Terrell (Western Michigan)
2017 – Micah Kiser (Virginia)
2018 – Christian Wilkins (Clemson)
2019 – Justin Herbert (Oregon)

Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the trophy has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club since 2013.
 
An All-Ivy League player and the captain of Columbia's 1961 Ivy League championship team, Bill Campbell found his true calling after an unlikely career change at age 39 from Columbia football coach to advertising executive. His ability to recruit, develop and manage talented executives – all lessons learned on the gridiron – proved to be a critical component of his ability to inspire his business teams to the highest levels of success.
 
As the CEO and chairman of Intuit, Campbell's strong leadership and unique talent in building teams allowed him to become one of the most influential individuals in Silicon Valley, using the lessons of the gridiron to mentor Steve Jobs of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Sundar Pichai and Eric Schmidt of Google, Scott Cook and Brad Smith of Intuit, John Doerr of Kleiner-Perkins, Dick Costolo at Twitter, Diane Greene of VMWare and countless others. His contributions were recently captured in a book titled "The Trillion Dollar Coach," and during his lifetime, he affectionally became known as the "Coach of Silicon Valley."
 
Campbell joined the NFF Board in 1978 while he was still a coach at Columbia, and he continued to serve with distinction until his passing in 2016. In 2004, the NFF recognized Campbell's contributions and accomplishments by presenting him with the NFF Gold Medal, the organization's highest honor. In 2009, the NFF renamed college football's premier scholar-athlete award as The William V. Campbell Trophy® in his honor.
 
As part of its support of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, Fidelity Investments helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with a finalist for the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda. The NFF presents each of the faculty athletics representatives with a plaque and Fidelity donates $5,000 for the academic support services at each school. The salutes have recognized 139 FARs since the program's inception, and Fidelity has made a total of $690,000 (including $60,000 this year) in donations.
  
2020 NFF Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda Finalists Highlights

• 3.74 Average GPA 
• 3 players with a perfect 4.00 GPA (Gibbens, Gray, Howerton)
• 10 captains, including 2 two-year captains (Ehlinger, Gibbens) and 1 three-year captain (Harris)
• 6 players who have already graduated (Gray, Harris, Himmelman, Kennedy-2 degrees, Molden, White-2 degrees), with 1 more on track to graduate in December (Ehlinger)
• 5 Academic All-America selections (Bradfield-2x, Gibbens, Gray, Howerton, Kaniho)
• 11 Academic All-Conference athletes (Bradfield, Ehlinger, Gibbens, Gray, Harris, Himmelman, Howerton, Kaniho, Kennedy, Molden, White)
• 2 All-America performers (Himmelman, Molden)
• 10 All-Conference selections (Bradfield, Ehlinger, Gibbens, Gray, Harris, Himmelman, Howerton, Kaniho, Molden, White)
• 4 members of conference championship teams (Kaniho-2x, Kennedy*, Molden, White)
• 5 players who become their school's first NFF National Scholar-Athlete (Bradfield, Gibbens, Harris, Howerton, White)
• 1 Barry Goldwater Scholar (Howerton)
• 1 school record holder (Ehlinger)
• 1 player who serves as his class president (Kinley)
• 3 members of playoff teams (CFP – Kennedy-2x*; FCS – Himmelman; Division II – Bradfield)
• 1 member of a ranked team (Ehlinger)
• 6 Offensive Players (Ehlinger, Gray, Himmelman, Howerton, Kennedy, White)
• 6 Defensive Players (Bradfield, Gibbens, Harris, Kaniho, Kinley, Molden)
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Future for Football, The William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Goodyear, Mazda, the New York Athletic Club, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter@NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL AWARDS ASSOCIATION
The William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.