Thiel College senior is The National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist

GREENVILLE, Pa. - Sept. 30, 2019 - PRLog -- Thiel College senior linebacker Matt Crawford '20 on Wednesday was named among the 185 semifinalists for The National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy.

Crawford, of Greenville, Pa., is a 2016 graduate of Greenville High School is a secondary education certification and history major at Thiel (https://www.thiel.edu/).

Crawford was among the 49 candidates representing Division III and is one of three Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) student-athletes represented on this list. He joins Michael Lohmeier from Carnegie Mellon and Isaac Withrow from Case Western Reserve.

A two-year captain, Crawford has appeared in 32 games recording 27 starts at linebacker. Crawford currently sits second on the team in with 26 tackles.

Off the field, Crawford carries a 3.97 overall grade-point average. In 2018, he was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-America Football First Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Crawford became the first Thiel football player to be named an Academic All-American since 2007. He was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team in 2017 and 2018. He has been named to the All-PAC Academic Honor Roll every year since his freshman year and is a part of multiple honor societies on campus.

The Greenville native has participated in various local community service projects over the years. He took part in "Revamp the Amp," a project to restore the amphitheater in Greenville. Crawford has also served as the liaison for the Snowflake Ball between Thiel and St. Paul's Senior Living Community.

The William V. Campbell Trophy is an award that recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. The NFF finalists will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as part of being a member to the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class which is presented by Fidelity Investments. The winner of the 30th Campbell Trophy and will have his scholarship raised to $25,000.

About Thiel College

Thiel College (https://www.thiel.edu/) is a private liberal arts institution founded in the Lutheran tradition. Located in Greenville, Pa., the College offers 60 majors and minors, 25 varsity sports, and an 11:1 student-faculty ratio to more than 900 students. A dedicated faculty paired with dynamic research and internship opportunities produce numerous graduate school and job placements. Coeducational from its beginnings, the College celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2016 and remains committed to combining tradition with innovation.