North Carolina State University Athletics
Finley Named Finalist for Top Academic Award
10/31/2018 10:39:00 AM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. - Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley has been named a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. This prestigious honor is presented by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame.
Selected from a nationwide pool of 179 semifinalists from among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA, Finley is one of 13 finalists and is the only member of the 2018 Scholar-Athlete Class who has already earned his master's degree. He is the first NC State student-athlete to be named to the NFF National Scholar-Athlete class since 1981.
Finley graduated magna cum laude from Boise State in 2016 and received his master's in Liberal Arts from NC State in May of 2018. He also earned a graduate certificate in Youth, Family and Community Sciences in May of 2018 and is pursuing a second graduate certificate. His undergraduate GPA was a 3.762 while he has posted a 3.697 in his graduate work.
Some of his academic honors include:
Finley will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, and will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 4, where his accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy ® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000. The event, which will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown, will be live streamed on ESPN3, starting at 8:30 p.m. ET.
This season as the Wolfpack's starting QB, Finley currently ranks fifth in the FBS in passing yards per game (321.4), ninth in total offense per game (325.1), and 19th in completion percentage (.668). He leads the ACC in all three of those categories as well.
Here's a list of the 2018 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class:
Kenneth Brinson, LB, Army West Point - 3.96 in Chemical Engineering
Taryn Christion, QB, South Dakota State - 3.61 in Business Economics
De'Arius Christmas, LB, Grambling State - 3.82 in Engineering Technology
D'Cota Dixon, S, Wisconsin - 3.32 in Rehabilitation Psychology
Ryan Finley, QB, North Carolina State - 3.76 in Psychology
Piercen Harnish, LB, Saint Francis (Ind.) - 3.96 in Finance
Trace McSorley, QB, Penn State - 3.31 in Accounting
Dalton Risner, OL, Kansas State - 3.60 in Communication Studies
Max Scharping, OL, Northern Illinois - 3.99 in Kinesiology
Eric Stevenson, LB, Wheaton (Ill.) - 3.83 in Economics
Easton Stick, QB, North Dakota State - 3.92 in Sport Management
Drue Tranquill, LB, Notre Dame - 3.73 in Mechanical Engineering
Christian Wilkins, DL, Clemson - 3.33 in Communication Studies
Selected from a nationwide pool of 179 semifinalists from among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA, Finley is one of 13 finalists and is the only member of the 2018 Scholar-Athlete Class who has already earned his master's degree. He is the first NC State student-athlete to be named to the NFF National Scholar-Athlete class since 1981.
Finley graduated magna cum laude from Boise State in 2016 and received his master's in Liberal Arts from NC State in May of 2018. He also earned a graduate certificate in Youth, Family and Community Sciences in May of 2018 and is pursuing a second graduate certificate. His undergraduate GPA was a 3.762 while he has posted a 3.697 in his graduate work.
Some of his academic honors include:
- 2016 Academic All-ACC
- 2017 Academic All-ACC
- Graduated magna cum laude from Boise State
- Fall 2013: Dean's List with High Honors
- Spring 2014: Dean's List with High Honors
- Fall 2014: Dean's List with Honors
- Spring 2015: Dean's List with Honors
- Fall 2015: Dean's List with Honors
- Fall 2015: Dean's List with Honors
- Spring 2016: Dean's List with High Honors
Finley will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, and will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 4, where his accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy ® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000. The event, which will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown, will be live streamed on ESPN3, starting at 8:30 p.m. ET.
This season as the Wolfpack's starting QB, Finley currently ranks fifth in the FBS in passing yards per game (321.4), ninth in total offense per game (325.1), and 19th in completion percentage (.668). He leads the ACC in all three of those categories as well.
Here's a list of the 2018 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class:
Kenneth Brinson, LB, Army West Point - 3.96 in Chemical Engineering
Taryn Christion, QB, South Dakota State - 3.61 in Business Economics
De'Arius Christmas, LB, Grambling State - 3.82 in Engineering Technology
D'Cota Dixon, S, Wisconsin - 3.32 in Rehabilitation Psychology
Ryan Finley, QB, North Carolina State - 3.76 in Psychology
Piercen Harnish, LB, Saint Francis (Ind.) - 3.96 in Finance
Trace McSorley, QB, Penn State - 3.31 in Accounting
Dalton Risner, OL, Kansas State - 3.60 in Communication Studies
Max Scharping, OL, Northern Illinois - 3.99 in Kinesiology
Eric Stevenson, LB, Wheaton (Ill.) - 3.83 in Economics
Easton Stick, QB, North Dakota State - 3.92 in Sport Management
Drue Tranquill, LB, Notre Dame - 3.73 in Mechanical Engineering
Christian Wilkins, DL, Clemson - 3.33 in Communication Studies
Congratulations to Ryan Finley!
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) October 31, 2018
Named a finalist for the @NFFNetwork 2018 #CampbellTrophy which honors the nation's BEST football scholar-athlete 👨🎓https://t.co/6FKbXicomB#1Pack1Goal 🐺🐺🏈 pic.twitter.com/wDVyOdVhtI
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