IRVING, Texas (Sept. 25, 2019) - FIU football's James Morgan was named a semifinalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced on Wednesday. 

Celebrating its 30th year in 2019, the award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. Morgan is one of 185 semifinalist to earn the distinction on Wednesday, while being just one of four from the C-USA (Charlotte, FIU, Rice and UTSA) to claim the honor. 

In his first season at FIU, Morgan took the conference by storm as he earned C-USA Newcomer of the Year honors on his way to a record-breaking season. The Green Bay, Wisconsin native broke single-season school records for passing touchdowns (26), highest passer efficiency rating (157.6) and total offense per play (7.67). Morgan also garnered C-USA Honorable Mention, C-USA Spirit of Service Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List and Manning Stars of the Week to name a few distinctions. 
 
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 30, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 30th Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
 
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIU.Football on Instagram and @FIUFootball on Twitter and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.