Ashland University senior left guard Jonathan Cipa is one of 135 semifinalists for the 2015 William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
The list of semifinalists were announced on Thursday (Sept. 24) by the National Football Foundation.
A four-year starter for the Eagles along the offensive line, Cipa has started 32 games and played in 33 for AU. This year, he is one of four team captains, as voted on by his teammates.
The Eagles' record during Cipa's three-plus years on the team is 27-8.
Through his junior year, Cipa had a cumulative grade-point average of 3.28 in Business Management (major) and Entrepreneurship (minor). He was named to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Football All-Academic Team in both 2013 and 2014.
Cipa is one of 20 Division II football players among the semifinalists.
The NFF will announce 15 finalists on Oct. 29, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 58th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8, where their accomplishments will be highlighted. At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 26th William V. Campbell Trophy, and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
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.
AU
FB/DS