IRVING, Texas – Three Southern Conference football student-athletes are among the 40 nominees from the Football Championship Subdivision announced as semifinalists for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy®, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced Wednesday.

Mercer linebacker LeMarkus Bailey, Chattanooga running back Alex Trotter and Western Carolina offensive lineman Zach Weeks represented the SoCon on the list.

The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. Fidelity Investments is a proud partner of the Campbell Trophy®. There were 179 semifinalists across all three NCAA divisions and NAIA.

The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 31, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 4, 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 29th William V. Campbell Trophy® 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.

The NFF’s full release can be found here.