Irving, Texas----- Josh Love, San Jose State University's starting quarterback who led the Spartans to a 31-24 comeback road victory over the University of Arkansas on September 21, is one of 185 national semifinalists for the 2019 William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Mazda.
Now in its 30th year, the award recognizes college football's top scholar-athlete for combined academic success, football performance and leadership on the field and in the community. The National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame oversee the prestigious awards program.
The senior from Mission Viejo, Calif., is in his third season as a starting quarterback for the Spartans. After three games, Love is realizing his best season at the major college level. He has completed 62.7 percent of his passes with only one interception for 815 yards and five touchdowns. More significantly, he led San Jose State on a fourth-quarter game-winning 75-yard touchdown drive at Arkansas after the Razorbacks tied the score at 24-24 with less than 3:00 remaining in regulation play.
The business management information systems major is a three-time Academic All-Mountain award recipient.
During his college career, Love has been very active in the team's Beyond Football program. Most recently, he organized a presentation to the team by MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). He is one of the many Spartans to participate in the Silicon Valley YWCA's annual Walk A Mile In Her Shoes fundraiser to raise awareness that any form of violence directed towards women must end.
To be eligible for consideration, a football student-athlete must be a senior or graduate student, in one's final year of athletics eligibility, possess a cumulate e grade-point average of 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 scale, be a significant contributor on the team, and demonstrate strong leadership and citizenship traits.
"These 185 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "For more than 60 years, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program has showcased more than 800 college football players who have been successful on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. And we are excited to celebrate the 30th year of the William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, which honors the best of the best. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders."
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® Presented by Mazda is a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total postgraduate scholarship of $25,000. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.7 million.
"The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on their tremendous accomplishments," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are extremely proud to highlight each semifinalist's achievements, showcasing their ability to balance academics and athletics at the highest level. The NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the finalists from this outstanding group of candidates."
From the 185 semifinalists, 12 to 14 finalists will be announced on October 30. Each finalist will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and travel to New York City for the 62nd annual National Football foundation Scholar-Athlete awards dinner in December.
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® Presented by Mazda is a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total postgraduate scholarship of $25,000. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.7 million.
In the history of the program, San Jose State wide receiver Tim Crawley was the Spartans' first National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete in 2016.