McLean County Times

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) has recognized nine Illinois State University football student-athletes for the 2025 NFF Hampshire Honor Society. This initiative acknowledges college football players across all divisions of the NCAA, NAIA, and sprint football who have maintained at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA during their college careers.

The Illinois State athletes honored this year include Micah Barnhart, Mitch Bartol, Dylan Calabrese, Dillon Gearhart, Ryan Gudaitis, Jake Siegel, Darius Walker, Nigel White, and Hunter Zambrano. This year's Honor Society comprises a record 2,514 players from 339 schools, marking it the largest class in the society's 19-year history.

The society continues to honor academic achievements among student-athletes, with standout members from six divisions: 689 from the FBS, 531 from the FCS, 212 from Division II, 978 from Division III, 58 from the NAIA, and 46 sprint football players. These students represent schools from every state except Alaska, which does not have an eligible college football program. FBS participants came from 120 schools, indicating a 90 percent participation rate.

"In today's era of NIL and the transfer portal, we firmly believe that education remains the key to long-term success," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "These results reaffirm that academics are still top of mind for today's student-athletes."

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society is an expansion of the National Scholar-Athlete program, which aims to strengthen academic performance among the 774 colleges and universities with football programs. The program was made possible by Jon F. Hanson, who funded the launch of the society in 2007 as part of his legacy to the NFF. Hanson served as NFF Chairman from 1994-2006 and now serves as chairman emeritus. Each year's honorees receive a certificate to commemorate their achievements.

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App offer further information on this and other developments related to Illinois State University athletics, providing details on tickets, scholarship fund gifts, and more.