Spencer Blackburn, a sixth-year senior center for the Eastern Washington University football team, was selected to the 2019 National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar-Athlete Class and was one of 12 finalists nationally for the 2019 William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, the NFF & College Hall of Fame. The Campbell Trophy annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
 
"It's a huge honor, and it's a testament to not just being a player on the field but being a student in the classroom as well," said Blackburn, who also recently became a repeat selection on the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Football Team. "I wouldn't be able to earn an honor like this if it wasn't for the coaching staff and the people around me. It's cliché to say that, but it's a group which actually truly says school comes first."
 
"He hits the books harder than football, and he hits football pretty hard," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "It's more than football in our program here at Eastern, and he's the epitome of that."
 
Blackburn and the other 11 finalists each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments. Blackburn – as well as Best and offensive line coach Jase Butorac -- traveled to New York City for the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 10, where Blackburn's accomplishments were highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. The original announcement of the award came on Oct. 30.
 
 "This is a great honor," added EWU Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey. "Spencer is the epitome of what Eastern has built with its football program.  He is an outstanding young man who excels both academically and athletically. We congratulate Spencer on this award."
 
Blackburn, a 2014 graduate of Meridian High School in Bellingham, Wash., ended his career with a streak of 49 consecutive starts (51 total games played) since taking over the center position in the fourth game of the 2016 season. He was a first-team All-Big Sky selection in 2019 after earning second-team honors in each of the previous three seasons. He earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors a year ago.
 
Eastern finished the 2019 season with the best offense in FCS, averaging 524.8 yards per game. Eastern also ended the regular season fourth in scoring (40.6), fourth in first downs (290), fifth in passing (317.1) and 21st in rushing at 207.8 yards. The Eagles joined Prairie View as the only team in FCS to rank in the top 21 in total offense, rushing and passing.
 
Blackburn was among a group of Eagle seniors who were 38-14 overall (73.1 percent) and 27-5 (84.4 percent) in Big Sky Conference play in the last four seasons.
 
Blackburn earned Second Team All-America honors in 2018 after earning Second Team All-Big Sky recognition for the third consecutive year. As a junior, he guided Eastern Washington to an appearance in the FCS Championship Game and the No. 2 final ranking as the national runner-up. Blackburn led an offense in 2018 that set school records for single-season rushing yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41), and he helped the Eagles finish the season as the only school to rank in the FCS top 20 in total offense, rushing and passing. The 2016 Hero Sports Sophomore All-American has guided EWU to Big Sky titles in 2016 and 2018 and an FCS Semifinals appearance in 2016.
 
He has completed his economics major, but won't graduate until he finishes his second major in accounting this fall. In addition, Blackburn was a team co-captain in both 2019 and 2018, and both years was also named to the Academic All-District 8 Football Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He has also earned three Big Sky All-Academic honors, and has a 3.69 grade point average. He was the 2017 recipient of the Larry Hattemer Offensive Lineman Scholarship.
 
The inaugural recipient of EWU's Golden EKG (Eastern Kind of Guy) Award in 2017, Blackburn set a great example off the field as a two-time team captain. He participated in the team's annual youth football clinics and elementary school reading programs while volunteering the HUB 360 program and Special Olympics.
 
"He's a great friend to others, he's a great student and he's a great athlete, and when you put those things together great things happen," added Best. "For him to be in that group of 12 is prestigious and we're proud to be a part of such an honor. It speaks volumes to what he's done off the field, and he brings that to the field as well."
 
In summer of 2019, Blackburn was one of just 28 players nationally to be honored on the Athlon 2019 Preseason NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America Team.  It was one of four preseason All-America honors Blackburn earned in the summer, as he also earned second team preseason All-America honors from STATS, Hero Sports and Phil Steele.
 
Blackburn was a sixth-year senior in 2019 after he received approval from the Big Sky Conference and the NCAA for their hardship waiver requests to receive a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility.  He redshirted in 2014, but couldn't play in 2015 because of a thumb injury. In 2018 he earned NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America honors by Associated Press (second team) and STATS (third team).
 
Selected from a nationwide pool of 185 exceptional semifinalists from among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA, the 12 finalists were:
 

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE	POSITION	SCHOOL	GPA	MAJOR
Spencer Blackburn	C	Eastern Washington	3.69	Economics & Accounting
Rodrigo Blankenship	PK	Georgia	3.71	Digital Broadcast Journalism
Jordan Fuller	S	Ohio State	3.60	Business Marketing
Alex Goettl	LB	Minnesota State Mankato	3.93	Biomedical Sciences
Justin Herbert	QB	Oregon	4.01	Biology
Adam Holtorf	C	Kansas State	3.92	Agribusiness
Michael Lohmeier	DE	Carnegie Mellon (PA)	4.00	Business Administration
Jordan Mack	LB	Virginia	3.47	Education
Dante Olson	LB	Montana	3.90	Business Admin./Management
Jelani Taylor	S	Cornell	3.96	Hotel Administration
Casey Toohill	LB	Stanford	3.71	Political Science
Jon Wassink	QB	Western Michigan	3.96	Accounting

 
 
 

More on The Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda . . .
 
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda 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 NFF Awards Committee did an excellent job in selecting this year's National Scholar-Athletes," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® recipient) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "Selected from an impressive group of semifinalists, they should be extremely proud of their accomplishments, as they have undoubtedly distinguished themselves as some of the best student-athletes in the country. Each of these men is also a leader in his respective community, and we know that they have only begun to reach their potential."
 
Following the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, the recipient of the 2019 Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda will be honored at several other prestigious events. On Wednesday, Dec. 11, a luncheon will be held in his honor at the New York Athletic Club (NYAC), the official home of the trophy since 2013. From there, he will travel directly to Atlanta for ESPN's "The Home Depot College Football Awards" at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday, Dec. 12, where he will be interviewed live during the show. Finally, he will travel to New Orleans to be honored on the field during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Jan. 13.
 
First awarded in 1990, The William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the former CEO and chairman of Intuit, a former player and head coach at Columbia University, and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal. The award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $7,000 increase in postgraduate funds for a total scholarship of $25,000. A total distribution of $223,000 in scholarships will be awarded Dec. 10, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $11.7 million.
 
In September, Mazda announced a three-year partnership to become the presenting sponsor of the Campbell Trophy®, kicking off the automaker's Power of Potential Platform.
 
The Campbell Trophy® has previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and six first-round NFL draft picks.
 
The past recipients of the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, include:
 

1990 – Chris Howard (Air Force)
1991 – Brad Culpepper (Florida)
1992 – Jim Hansen (Colorado)
1993 – Thomas Burns (Virginia)
1994 – Rob Zatechka (Nebraska)
1995 – Bobby Hoying (Ohio State)
1996 – Danny Wuerffel (Florida)
1997 – Peyton Manning (Tennessee)
1998 – Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia)
1999 – Chad Pennington (Marshall)
2000 – Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska)
2001 – Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami [FL])
2002 – Brandon Roberts (Washington U. in        St. Louis [MO])
2003 – Craig Krenzel (Ohio State)
2004 – Michael Munoz (Tennessee)
2005 – Rudy Niswanger (LSU)
2006 – Brian Leonard (Rutgers)
2007 – Dallas Griffin (Texas)
2008 – Alex Mack (California)
2009 – Tim Tebow (Florida)
2010 – Sam Acho (Texas)
2011 – Andrew Rodriguez (Army West Point)
2012 – Barrett Jones (Alabama)
2013 – John Urschel (Penn State)
2014 – David Helton (Duke)
2015 – Ty Darlington (Oklahoma)
2016 – Zach Terrell (Western Michigan)
2017 – Micah Kiser (Virginia)
2018 – Christian Wilkins (Clemson)