IRVING, Texas — BYU senior center James Empey was named a semifinalists Wednesday for the 2021 William V. Campbell Trophy, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award.
Presented by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF), the Campbell Trophy recognizes the top football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
The 2021 list of semifinalists boasts an impressive 3.66 GPA average, with more than two-thirds of the 176 candidates—including Empey—having already earned their bachelor’s degree.
Celebrating its 32nd year, the NFF will announce the 12-14 Campbell Trophy finalists for 2021 on Oct. 27. Each of the finalists will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2021 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments.
In 2016, BYU’s Taysom Hill earned the postgraduate scholarship and was named a NFF National Scholar-Athlete as a finalist for the award. In all, five Cougars have been named an NFF National Scholar-Athlete. Other BYU past recipients included Matt Bauman (2009), Jared Lee (2000), Steve Young (1983) and Stephen Miller (1976).
This year’s finalists will be honored at the 63rd NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on Dec. 7, where one will be declared the winner of the 32nd Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
In addition to being named a preseason All-American by both Phil Steele and Athlon Sports, Empey was previously recognized for his off-the-field resume as a candidate for the prestigious, AFCA Good Works Team, and was selected to the Rimington Award watch list (most outstanding center) for the third time, the Outland Trophy Watch List (top interior lineman) for the second straight year and is on the Wuerffel Trophy watch list (community service).
A 2021 team captain, Empey has started in all 38 games he has played for the Cougars. He has also been an active leader helping serve others off the field, including working with head coach Kalani Sitake's More to Life Foundation in California and New York as well as the My Tiny Hero program locally in Utah.
In the classroom, Empey is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection who graduated this summer with a 3.84 GPA as a finance major with a minor in nonprofit management.
Candidates for the Campbell Trophy must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2, demonstrate outstanding football ability as a first team player 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.
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 63rd year in 2021. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on a player’s academic and athletic accomplishments. The NFF has recognized 878 outstanding individuals since the program’s inception. This year’s postgraduate scholarships will push the program’s all-time distribution to more than $12.1 million.
The Campbell Trophy was first awarded in 1990, adding to the program’s prestige. Past recipients include two Rhodes Scholars, two Heisman Trophy winners and seven first-round NFL draft picks.
Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the trophy has been prominently displayed at the New York Athletic Club since 2013.
Past recipients of the Campbell Trophy 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 - Missouri)
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)
2020 – Brady White (Memphis)