Sept. 27, 2017
NOTRE DAME, Indiana – Senior linebacker Greer Martini has been named a semifinalist for the 2017 William V. Campbell Trophy, which is awarded annually by the National Football Foundation to the nation’s top scholar-athlete. The award is also widely known as the “Academic Heisman.”
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.
This marks the ninth time in the past 13 years that the Irish have had a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy. Notre Dame has had a finalist three times in the past 10 years (LB Manti Te’o in 2012, OL Chris Stewart in 2010 and TE John Carlson in 2007).
A finance major in the Mendoza College of Business and team captain for the Irish in 2017, Martini owns a 3.327 grade-point average.
On the field, Martini has played in 42 career games and started 14 contests, including all four in 2017. He has registered 145 tackles, 79 solo stops, 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass breakup.
Off the field, Martini has participated in countless community service projects, including Christ the King Elementary Field Day, Football 101, Uplifting Athletes: Bowl with the Irish, WeishFest, Uplifting Athletes: Lift for Life, Make-A-Wish and Elkhart Child and Parent Services Fall Festival. In fact, he recorded the fourth-most community service hours of any football student-athlete during the 2016-17 academic year.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Nov. 1, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner 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 28th William V. Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
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