Wednesday, September 5, 2018
DALLAS – Five Pioneer Football League student-athletes are among nearly 1,200 football student-athletes who have already earned their undergraduate degrees and are playing football this fall while pursing their second degree, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame has determined and released.
Alex Jeske and Nick Surges of Dayton, Marshal Davis of Jacksonville, Skyler Lane of Morehead State and Gaven DeFilippo of Stetson are the PFL student-athletes playing for their respective teams after previously earning their undergraduate degree.
The NFF compiled the list with the help of athletics directors, faculty athletics representatives and sports information directors from all divisions who identified the players on their 2018 fall rosters who have already earned their undergraduate degrees. A total of 235 schools responded, creating the list of 1,199 student-athletes who are slated to play this year while pursuing additional diplomas.
The numbers include 835 players from 125 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), 220 players from 62 schools in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), 123 players from 34 schools in Division II, nine players from nine schools in Division III and 12 players from five schools in the NAIA.
Publishing a list of the graduates playing college football represents the latest addition to the NFF's list of initiatives designed to promote the scholar-athlete ideal, dating back to 1959 and the launch of the highly prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. The NFF has distributed more than $31 million in scholarships, including $11.3 million to 841 individuals via the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards and another $21 million through its nationwide Chapter Network.
Other key components of the NFF efforts to promote the scholar-athlete ideal include The William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF Campbell Trophy® Summit, the NFF Faculty Salutes presented by Fidelity Investments, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF Chapter Scholar-Athlete Awards and the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association.