University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Farley Named Semifinalist for William V. Campbell Trophy
9/27/2017 1:00:00 PM | Football
NFF RELEASE
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Senior linebacker Jared Farley has been named a semifinalist for the 2017 William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
Farley is one of 181 semifinalists the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) has chosen for the award. The Cedar Falls native is also one of 36 representing the FCS and one of seven from the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
The senior is the ninth Panther to be named a semifinalist for this "academic Heisman", joining James Lindgren (2006), Chad Rinehart (2007), Josh Mahoney (2009), Ben Boothby (2011), Kyle Bernard (2012), David Johnson (2012), Isaac Ales (2015) and Karter Schult (2016).
Farley has had one of his best years on the field so far this season, earning MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honors while also leading the league in total tackles. Farley was named an All-MVFC First Team member in the preseason, while also earning STATS FCS Preseason All-America Second Team honors.
The NFF will select 12-14 finalists on Nov. 1, and each of those honorees will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy will be announced on Dec. 5 in New York City and the honoree's scholarship will be increased to $25,000.
The Panthers have only had two finalists in the history of the award, with Josh Mahoney in 2009 and most recently Karter Schult last year.
Candidates for the award 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. 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.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the UNI football program, follow the Panthers on Twitter at "@UNIFootball" and on Facebook at "UNI Football."
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
DL
/ FootballUNI Panther Football: The Best Pod of your Day (Episode 12)
Wednesday, November 05
Todd Stepsis Press Conference - Nov. 3, 2025
Monday, November 03
PST: Todd Stepsis - Oct. 31, 2025 (Part 1 of 3)
Friday, October 31
PST: Todd Stepsis - Oct. 31, 2025 (Part 3 of 3)
Friday, October 31