Central College running back Pat Gray is among 179 semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy as the nation’s top football scholar-athlete.
The award is presented by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. Gray is among 41 nominees from NCAA Division III institutions and the only one representing an American Rivers Conference school. The NFF will announce 12-14 semifinalists Oct. 31, with each receiving an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The winner will be announced Dec. 4 at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York City. Nominees must be a senior or graduate student with a minimum 3.20 cumulative grade point average, have outstanding football ability and demonstrate strong leadership and citizenship. An engineering major aspiring to a career in aerospace engineering, Gray carries a 3.90 grade point average.
He received the college’s prestigious Rolscreen Scholarship, was an Academic All-Iowa Conference honoree last year and was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII first team. Gray serves as Central’s student senate leader after a year as parliamentarian. He also served as a student representative to Central’s board of trustees and is a physics/engineering tutor and lab assistant. He’s a member of Central’s honorary academic society, Alpha Zeta Mu. Gray taught a Pi515 computer programming class for disadvantaged youth and is involved in the Night to Shine program for children with physical and/or mental disabilities.
A two-time letterwinner after missing a year due to injury, Gray is a team co-captain for the 4-0 Dutch. He’s rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries and also caught five passes for 43 yards. He follows last year’s Campbell Trophy semifinalist from Central, graduated wide receiver Sam Markham.