NFF Hampshire Honor Society Release
 
Bronx, N.Y. (April 29, 2014) – Fordham University football student-athletes Anthony Pesanello and Joseph Sullivan were named to the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) 2014 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college career. A total of 838 players from 267 schools qualified for membership in the society's eighth year, setting a new record for the number of members in the history of the program, which began in 2007.
 
Pesanello and Sullivan are two of 25 Patriot League honorees which came from six different schools, with a League-high 10 from Holy Cross. Lafayette (6), Bucknell (4), Fordham (2), Lehigh (2) and Colgate (1) also had student-athletes honored.
 
Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include being a starter or a significant contributor in one's last year of eligibility (or a senior who has declared for the NFL Draft) at an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III or an NAIA college or university, achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study; and meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.
 
This marks the second straight year that the Rams had multiple players named to the Hampshire Honor Society. Last year, Brendan Melanophy, Patrick Murray and Nicholas Womack were honored.
 
Pesanello, a defensive lineman, appeared in ten games as a senior last fall, making two starts. He finished the season with 13 total tackles, six solo, including one for loss and he had two quarterback hurries.  
 
Over his four-year Fordham career, Pesanello, a Finance major with a 3.77 GPA, appeared in 30 games, amassing 30 total tackles, 14 solo, including two for loss.
 
Sullivan, a Biology major with a 3.32 GPA, handled all of the long snapping chores over the past four years. He tied Javarus Dudley's school record by appearing in 47 career games and was named to the Patriot League Honor Roll in 2010 and 2013.
 
The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's current National Scholar-Athlete program greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization's leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes who play football at the more than 700 college and universities with football programs nationwide. The initiative has honored 4,927 student-athletes since its inception, and the program has experienced growth every year in either members or school participation since its launch in 2007.