Patriot League Release | National Football Foundation Release
 
Bronx, N.Y. (September 25, 2014) – Fordham University graduate student Brett Biestek  was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy^®, presented by Fidelity Investments^® and hosted at the New York Athletic Club, which is celebrating its 25^th anniversary in 2014. He is one of five Patriot League student-athletes named a semifinalist.
 
The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation, and up to 16 of the candidates will be named recipients of a prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award, also presented by Fidelity Investments. Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program awards $18,000 scholarships that can be used for the honorees' postgraduate educations. This year's recipients will be announced Oct. 30, and one will be declared the winner of the Campbell Trophy Dec. 9 at the 57th NFF Annual Awards Dinner.
 
Biestek, a graduate student who graduated last December in three-and-a-half years and is currently enrolled in the Fordham MBA program, has started all four games for the #16/19 Rams this fall. He has amassed eleven total tackles, ten solo, including three for a loss and one sack. He also has two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.
 
Last year, Biestek earned a plethora  of awards, both athletically and academically. He was named First Team Capital One Academic All-America® last fall, Fordham's first football Academic All-American^® since Barry Cantrell in 1997, as well as a Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year, being named one of two recipients of a $5,000 postgraduate. He was also named Academic All-Patriot League and to the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team.
 
Biestek, who graduated with a degree in Finance with a 3.78 GPA, started all 14 games on the Fordham defensive line in 2103, recording 58 total tackles, 40 solo, including 14.5 tackles for a loss of 74 yards and five sacks for 36 yards. He also had five quarterback hurries, four pass breakups, three fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and a blocked kick. Biestek tied for second in the Patriot League in tackles for loss per game (1.04) and tied for seventh in sacks per game (0.36) and was named first team All-Patriot League.
 
He is believed to be just to second Fordham football player to graduate early and enroll directly into the MBA program.
 
The NFF Awards Committee will select up to 16 recipients, and the results will be announced via a national press release on Thursday, Oct. 30. Each recipient will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, and they will vie as finalists for the 2014 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments and hosted at the NYAC, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2014. Each member of the 2014 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class will also travel to New York City to be honored Dec. 9 during the 57th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. One member of the class will also be announced live at the event as the winner of the Campbell Trophy.