Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw wide receiver Robby Ballentine (Sr., Crown Point, Ind./Andrean) is one of 16 finalists, announced today by the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame, for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football's premier scholar-athlete award that annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance, and exemplary leadership. The 16 finalists will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as members of the 2025 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments®:

The 16 finalists were selected from an impressive 180 semifinalists nationwide from among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA.
 
"Each year, we are thrilled to announce the finalists for the Campbell Trophy®," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (a Campbell Trophy® recipient) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "These finalists exemplify the very best that our sport has to offer on the field, in the classroom and as leaders in their communities. They exude excellence in all areas of their lives, and we know they have only begun to reach their potential."
 
The finalists will travel to the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 9, 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 36th Campbell Trophy^® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000. Click here for more information on the Awards Dinner, including options to purchase tickets online, special travel rates to the event from Delta Air Lines, and room rates at the Bellagio.
 
"The NFF Awards Committee faced a challenging task in selecting the best of the best from an already impressive list of candidates this year," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We're thrilled to shine our spotlight on this group of finalists as they serve without question as an inspiration for the next generation to emulate. We look forward to celebrating their achievements at our event in December and supporting their continued development with postgraduate scholarships."
 
Submitted by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the Campbell Trophy^® must be either a senior player who will complete his final year of eligibility during the 2025 season or be a graduated player or grad transfer who has already earned a bachelor's degree and participating in the 2025 season; must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale; must have outstanding football ability as a starter/significant contributor; and must have exhibited exemplary leadership on the field, in the classroom and within the community.

A gifted wide receiver who has rewritten the record books, Robby Ballentine has matched his on-field success with outstanding work in the classroom, earning a near-perfect 3.92 GPA as a biochemistry major. The Crown Point, Indiana, native becomes the fifth NFF National Scholar-Athlete from DePauw and first since 1989. Previous DePauw honorees included Rich Bonaccorsi (1984), Tony de Nicola (1985), Mike Sherman (1987) and Ron Stier (1989). Ballentine was the only Division III student-athlete chosen for this honor.
 
A 2024 First Team Academic All-American, Ballentine earned a place on the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll and has been recognized six times on both the Tiger Pride Honor Roll and DePauw's Dean's List. He earned the Phi Delta Theta Albert Lund Scholarship, and he has been inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma national scholar-athlete honor society. Ballentine plans to pursue a postgraduate career in dentistry.
 
A 2024 D3football.com Second Team All-American, Ballentine has twice made the First Team All-NCAC list. He broke the NCAC single-season record for receiving touchdowns (20) last season and is the school's all-time leader in touchdown receptions. His career marks currently include 210 receptions for 3,125 yards and 47 touchdowns. His 109.3 receiving yards per game and 9.3 points per game both lead the NCAC this season, and he is tied for sixth in the nation for receiving touchdowns (9), ranks ninth for receptions per game (8.17), 16^th for reception yards per game (109.3), and 14^th receiving yards (656) this season. His 47 career touchdown receptions are first among active student-athletes on all NCAA levels, while his 210 receptions are fourth among active Division III players and his 3,125 receiving yards are third.
 
A three-year letter winner and 2025 team captain, Ballentine has been a key force in transforming DePauw, along with his younger brother Scott (who stars at quarterback for the Tigers), into one of Division III's most successful programs. He has helped lead the Tigers to three straight NCAC titles and Division III playoff appearances, including the program's first-ever 11-win season in 2024 and back-to-back 10-0 regular seasons for the first time in school history. The No. 16 ranked Tigers are 5-1 this year.
 
Ballentine also serves as the academic chair of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and volunteers as a youth mentor for the Lake County Veterans Treatment Court.

The 16 finalists include:

• Robby Ballentine, WR – DePauw (IN) // Biochemistry (3.92 GPA)
• Jonah Coleman, RB – Washington // Education (3.91 GPA)
• James Conway, LB – Fordham // Marketing Information Systems (3.71 GPA)
• Jalon Daniels, QB – Kansas // Sport Management (3.58 GPA)
• Ty Dugger, DB – Harding (AR) // Accounting (3.92 GPA)
• Aaron Graves, DL – Iowa // Exercise Science (4.03 GPA)
• Blake Horvath, QB – Navy // Operations Research (3.69 GPA)
• Chandler Kirton, OL – Austin Peay // Management (3.92 GPA)
• Trey Moore, LB – Texas // Physical Culture & Sports (3.65 GPA)
• Red Murdock, LB – Buffalo // Psychology (3.46 GPA)
• Parker Navarro, QB – Ohio // Integrated Health Studies (3.96 GPA)
• Sawyer Robertson, QB – Baylor // Marketing (3.73 GPA)
• Eli Stowers, TE – Vanderbilt // Individual Studies (3.92 GPA)
• Jack Strand, QB – Minnesota State Moorhead // Engineering Physics (3.87 GPA)
• Andon Thomas, LB – Army West Point // Chemical Engineering (3.98 GPA)
• Jackson Waring, QB – Grand View (IA) // Psychology (3.88 GPA)

 
Following the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas, the recipient of the 2025 Campbell Trophy® will be honored at several other prestigious events. On Friday, Dec. 12, he will be featured during "The Home Depot College Football Awards" on ESPN. Then, on Monday, Dec. 15, a reception will be held in his honor at the New York Athletic Club (NYAC), the official home of the trophy since 2013.
 
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 67th year in 2025. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments. Since 2011, Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of workplace savings plans in higher education, has served as the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards.
 
As part of its support of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, Fidelity Investments helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with a finalist for the Campbell Trophy^®. The NFF presents each of the faculty athletics representatives with a plaque, and Fidelity donates $5,000 for the academic support services at each school. The salutes have recognized 214 FARs since the program's inception, and Fidelity has made a total of $1.07 million (including $80,000 this year) in donations.
 
Including the 2025 Campbell Trophy^® finalists, the NFF has honored 954 individuals with National Scholar-Athlete Awards, and this year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $13.2 million.
 
Past recipients have used their postgraduate scholarships to set the standard for excellence in our society, earning more than 177 medical degrees, 108 law degrees, 83 MBAs and 46 PhDs. Others have used their financial backing to enhance successful careers in finance, consulting and engineering. Continuing their excellence on the field, more than 274 recipients have played in the NFL, with an average career of six seasons or double the length of a typical NFL player. Past recipients also include 13 Rhodes Scholars and six Heisman Trophy winners.
 
Past NFF National Scholar-Athletes have made it big in a variety of fields, including actor and film producer Mark Harmon (UCLA); Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans (Alabama); NASA astronauts Leland Melvin (Richmond) and Michael Hopkins (Illinois); and current athletics directors: Trev Alberts (Texas A&M) and Josh Whitman (Illinois). NFF National Scholar-Athletes who became NFL stars include Drew Brees, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, Doug Flutie, Joey Galloway, Brian Griese, Justin Herbert, Jeff Hostetler, Bradie James, Tyler Lockett, Alex Mack, Johnny Musso, Bo Nix, Ryan Tannehill, Joe Thomas, Jonathan Vilma, Wesley Walls and Christian Wilkins, among many others.
 
A total of 49 former National Scholar-Athletes have been inducted into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame and nine are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well: Tony Boselli (Southern California), Derrick Brooks (Florida State), Dave Casper (Notre Dame), Randy Gradishar (Ohio State), Peyton Manning (Tennessee), Merlin Olsen (Utah State), Lee Roy Selmon (Oklahoma), Joe Thomas (Wisconsin) and Steve Young (BYU). Click here for a database of all the past NFF National Scholar-Athletes.
 
The Campbell Trophy®, first awarded in 1990 to Air Force's Chris Howard, has added to the program's prestige. Past recipients include two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and nine first-round NFL draft picks. For the complete list of former winners, please click here.

The trophy is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, an All-Ivy League player and the captain of Columbia's 1961 Ivy League championship team who found his true calling after an unlikely career change at age 39 from Columbia football coach to advertising executive. His ability to recruit, develop and manage talented executives – all lessons learned on the gridiron – proved to be a critical component of his ability to inspire his business teams to the highest levels of success.
 
As the CEO and chairman of Intuit, Campbell's strong leadership and unique talent in building teams allowed him to become one of the most influential individuals in Silicon Valley. Using the lessons of the gridiron he mentored Steve Jobs of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Sundar Pichai and Eric Schmidt of Google, Scott Cook and Brad Smith of Intuit, John Doerr of Kleiner-Perkins, Dick Costolo at Twitter, Diane Greene of VMware and countless others. His contributions have been captured in a book titled "The Trillion Dollar Coach," and during his lifetime, he affectionately became known as the "Coach of Silicon Valley."
 
Campbell joined the NFF Board in 1978 while he was still a coach at Columbia, and he continued to serve with distinction until his passing in 2016. In 2004, the NFF recognized Campbell's contributions and accomplishments by presenting him with the NFF Gold Medal, the organization's highest honor. In 2009, the NFF renamed college football's premier scholar-athlete award as The William V. Campbell Trophy® as an inspiration to future generations.