DALLAS, Texas - North Dakota defensive lineman Ty Boyle is listed among the 121 semifinalists for the 2010 William V. Campbell Trophy, (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy), as announced by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF).

Boyle, a native of International Falls, Minn., sits alongside Southern Utah's Tysson Poots as representatives of the Great West Conference.

The trophy was renamed last fall in honor of Bill Campbell, the chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal.

The NFF Awards Committee will select up to 15 finalists and announce the results via national press release on Thursday, Oct. 28. Each finalist will be recognized as part of the 2010 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, receiving an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. The Campbell Trophy winner, who will have his scholarship increased to $25,000 and receive a 25-pound bronze trophy, will be announced live at the NFF's Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 7 at the prestigious Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. A total distribution of $277,000 in scholarships will be awarded that evening, bringing the NFF's all-time scholarship distribution to $9.5 million.

Launched in 1959, the NFF scholar-athlete program became the first initiative in history to award post-graduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments. The William V. Campbell Trophy, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program's mystique, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and five first-round NFL draft picks. The University of Florida's Tim Tebow was named the 2009 Campbell Trophy recipient and last year's finalists combined for a 3.77 average GPA. The class boasted 14 academic all-conference student-athletes, including seven academic All-America picks; 14 all-conference players, including six All-America picks; 16 team captains; one Heisman Trophy winner; and eight members of conference championship teams.

The past recipients of the Campbell Trophy include: Air Force's Chris Howard (1990); Florida's Brad Culpepper (1991); Colorado's Jim Hansen (1992); Virginia's Thomas Burns (1993); Nebraska's Rob Zatechka (1994); Ohio State's Bobby Hoying (1995); Florida's Danny Wuerffel (1996); Tennessee's Peyton Manning (1997); Georgia's Matt Stinchcomb (1998); Marshall's Chad Pennington (1999); Nebraska's Kyle Vanden Bosch (2000); Miami's (Fla.) Joaquin Gonzalez (2001); Washington University in St. Louis' Brandon Roberts (2002); Ohio State's Craig Krenzel (2003); Tennessee's Michael Munoz (2004); LSU's Rudy Niswanger (2005); Rutgers' Brian Leonard (2006); Texas' Dallas Griffin (2007); Cal's Alex Mack (2008); and Florida's Tim Tebow (2009).

2010 William V. Campbell Trophy Semifinalist Notes

• 3.58 Average GPA
• 46 Semifinalists with a 3.7 GPA or better
• 69 All-Conference Picks
• 76 Team Captains
• 16 Academic All-America Selections
• 20 All-America Selections
• 26 Players (among all divisions) represented in this week's national top 25 polls
• 2 Players formerly named NFF National High School Scholar-Athletes
• 47 Nominees from the Football Bowl Subdivision
• 28 Nominees from the Football Championship Subdivision
• 12 Nominees from the Division II
• 27 Nominees from the Division III
• 7 Nominees from the NAIA
• 56 Offensive Players
• 48 Defensive Players
• 17 Special Teams Players

 The NFF'S 2010 Campbell Trophy Semifinalists

Football Championship Subdivision
Albany - Chris Blais
Austin Peay State - Bradley Williams
Brown - Kyle Newhall-Caballero
Bucknell - Travis Nissley
Colgate - Greg Sullivan
Columbia - Alex Gross
Dartmouth - Tanner Scott
Dayton - Brandon Wingeier
Delaware - Pat Devlin
Drake - Dan Clinton
Eastern Kentucky - Logan O'Connor
Holy Cross - Bill Edger
Marist - Terrence Turner
Montana - Andrew Selle
Montana State - Jordan Craney
Nicholls State - Patrick Dolan
Norfolk State - Anthony Taylor
North Dakota - Ty Boyle
North Dakota State - Drew Hushka
Northern Arizona - Michael Herrick
Northern Colorado - Timothy McGraw
Sacramento State - Peter Buck
Saint Francis - Scott Lewis
South Dakota State - Conrad Kjerstad
Southern Utah - Tysson Poots
Towson - Yaky Ibia
Yale - Jesse Reising
Youngstown State - Stephen Blose

The The William V. Campbell Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association's official website, ncfaa.org.

Click here for the complete NFF release.                                                         

- Go Sioux -