Coleman Bennett Named 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy Semifinalist

IRVING, Texas – Bucknell football's Coleman Bennett was named a semifinalist for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy®, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced.

Bennett was among 201 semifinalists for college football's premier scholar-athlete award, which is a record number for the 34-year-old award. The previous high was 199 nominees in 2000. The list of candidates, which includes 39 FCS student-athletes, boasts an average GPA of 3.65.

Bennett, a sociology major also pursuing a minor in Spanish, was one of four semifinalists hailing from the Patriot League, joining Jacob Dobbs of Holy Cross, Christian Jablonski of Lehigh and Zack Pelland of Colgate.

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. Only Bucknell and Dayton have had a Campbell Trophy semifinalist each of the past 18 years.

Previous Bison honorees include David Frisbey (2006), Nick Mozal (2007), Kevin Mullen (2008), Sam Nana-Sinkam (2009), Travis Nissley (2010), Tim Bolte (2011), Samuel Oyekoya (2012), Tracey Smith (2013), Derek Maurer (2014), Matt DelMauro (2015), Cary Hess (2016), Mark Pyles (2017), Bryan Marine (2018), Alex Pechin (2019), Rick Mottram (2020), Grayson Cherubino (2021) and Brent Jackson (2022).

Bennett, a running back/return specialist from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has been a consistent contributor on both offense and special teams since arriving at Bucknell in 2020. For his career, Bennett has totaled 2,266 all-purpose yards. A 2021 Preseason All-Patriot League return specialist, Bennett recently eclipsed 1,000 career kick return yards and added 137 on four returns last Saturday. His 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at Georgetown last season was one of only 10 touchdown plays of that distance in program history.

Bennett is also four yards shy of 500 receiving yards in his career and has rushed for 629 yards. He's scored five touchdowns throughout his time with the Bison.

Bennett was one of four Bison voted a team captain this season and has been an exceptional student off the field. He earned a spot on the 2022 Academic All-Patriot League Team, was named a 2021 Arthur Ashe Jr., Sports Scholar and is a three-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

Within the program, Bennett has earned Bucknell's Stuart M. Smith Memorial Award as the most outstanding newcomer, the Theodore S. Ratkus Leadership Award for character, courage and commitment to team play, and the Tom Gadd Coaches' Award.

Bennett is active in Bucknell's Bison Athletes of Color affinity group and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

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.

The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 25, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5, 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 34th Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.