NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State senior running back Wenkers Wright was named to a list of 177 semifinalists for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football's premier scholar-athlete award. The announcement was made Wednesday by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF).
The impressive list of candidates, from all NCAA divisions and the NAIA, boasts an impressive 3.60 average GPA, with more than half of the semifinalists having already earned their bachelor's degrees. Celebrating its 36th year, the Campbell Trophy® recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
"This year's 177 semifinalists represent the very best of what it means to play college football," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "They have excelled in the classroom, distinguished themselves on the field, and proven to be leaders in their communities. The Campbell Trophy® stands as a reminder that football develops complete individuals, and these young men embody that tradition at the highest level."
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior who will complete his final year of eligibility in the 2025 season or a graduate student or graduate transfer who has already earned a degree and is participating in the 2025 season; 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.
After earning a bachelor's degree in just three years in May 2024 with a 3.32 GPA in business administration, Wright currently boasts a 3.75 GPA as a graduate student while pursuing his MBA. Wright is a three-time Missouri Valley Football Conference honor roll selection and was a 2023 Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award recipient. He is also a two-time recipient of the W. F. Ruebush Endowed Scholarship, and four-time member of the Illinois State Athletics Honor Roll.
A 2025 Preseason All-America selection by Stats Perform, Wright is also currently a 2025 Walter Payton Award Watch List member as he competes in his final season with the Redbirds. Wright was a 2024 All-MVFC Honorable Mention team selection, after he led the Redbirds and ranked fifth in the MVFC with 1,123 rushing yards on 218 attempts (5.2 yards per carry) and finished the season with 11 rushing touchdowns, which ranked eighth in the Valley. He became the Redbirds' first 1,000-yard rusher since James Robinson in 2019 and eclipsed the 2,000-yard rushing mark in his career. This season, his has rushed for 309 yards on 51 carries and has scored a team-high four touchdowns on the ground, which ranks him in the top 20 in the FCS.
A leader in the community, Wright has volunteered his time Special Olympics of Illinois, both at the summer games hosted on campus and at the annual Polar Plunge at Miller Park, 100 Caring Adults (welcoming students back to school), the Prison Fellowship Angel Tree and the NEXGEN Leadership program in Southern Indiana among others. He has also donated money from his NIL deals to give back to an orphanage in Haiti, where he was adopted from and where many of his family members still reside.
The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, NFF College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators. The NFF will announce 12-16 finalists on Oct. 22, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2025 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. 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. Wright will look to join Jeff Hembrough (1981), Dan Hackman (1989), Adam Waugh (2001) and Drew Himmelman (2020) as a finalist for the prestigious honor.
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