The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced Wednesday the 156 semifinalists for the 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy®, including Lake Forest College senior cornerback Dante Esposito.
The Campbell Trophy® is college football's premier scholar-athlete award. The impressive list of candidates boasts an impressive 3.62 average GPA, with more than half of the semifinalists having already earned their bachelor's degrees.
Celebrating its 33rd year, the Campbell Trophy® recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance, and exemplary leadership.
Esposito tied for third in the nation with a school record-tying eight interceptions and also ranked among the national leaders in passes defended last season. He was named Midwest Conference Defensive Skill Most Valuable Player and D3football.com selected him as a Second Team All-American last year and a First Team Preseason All-American prior to this season.
A business major and marketing minor, Esposito is a two-time Academic All-MWC honoree. He is a member of the American Marketing Association and the College's accounting club and studied abroad in Italy in the spring of 2022. He volunteers at Bernie's Book Bank and Feed My Starving Children at least once a semester, has assisted with the Forester Football Heroes Day care package fundraising, and has been a member of the football team's leadership board since December of 2021.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 26, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2022 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on December 6, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports.
Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 33rd Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $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 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 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.
