Ian Campbell Nominated for Rudy Award

LAS VEGAS, Nev. Kansas State University nominated Wildcats senior defensive end Ian Campbell for the SECOND ANNUAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL RUDY AWARD, it was announced today by The Rudy Foundation 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

The award honors student-athletes who demonstrate exemplary CHARACTER, COURAGE, CONTRIBUTION and COMMITMENT as members of their collegiate football teams. These same traits were immortalized in the blockbuster film “RUDY” in 27 seconds and against all odds on a gridiron in South Bend, Indiana, enabling Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger to carve his name into college football lore.

Every Division I Conference and 53 of its 120 football programs submitted nominations for the 2008 Award, nearly double the number of applications from the inaugural year in 2007.

Ian Campbell, it was stated in the school’s nomination materials, is a team leader on and off the field. He was a walk-on in 2004 and worked his way into the starting lineup by the beginning of his sophmore year in 2006. Campbell has started every game since then, earning a scholarship the past two seasons and rising to fifth on the Wildcats all-time sacks list. He was honored each of the past two years with the Black Lion Award, presented to players who represent the charactrer traits of leadership, courage, devotion to duty, self-sacrafice and -- above all -- an unselfish concern for the the team ahead of self. Campbell also has been one of the Wildcats most involved players in terms of community service, speaking to elementary school kids and assisting local residents with cleanup after the June 2008 tornado that devastated part of Manhattan, Kan.

Three RUDY AWARD finalists will be chosen by the Selection Committee and honored at a breakfast to be held in conjunction with the American Football Coaches Association Convention on January 12, 2009, at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN. Rudy Ruettiger will personally present the awards.

Each finalist will be presented with a beautiful award and an academic scholarship, as well as have travel expenses paid to the event. An overall winner will be chosen and presented with the top scholarship and trophy.

“We established this award as a special way to honor and recognize college football players for the size of their hearts instead of the enormity of their stats,” said Rudy Ruettiger. “It is great to see such a huge increase in the number of nominations, as we continue to build the RUDY AWARD into one of the top collegiate honors. Our society looks to athletes as role models... and I cannot think of a better role model than one who demonstrates great character, courage, contribution and commitment.”

The recipient of the 2007 INAUGURAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL RUDY AWARD was Terry Clayton, then a senior linebacker at the University of Kentucky, who, despite losing his hearing at the age of five, persevered as a walk-on for the Kentucky football team for five seasons and twice was named to the Southeast Conference Academic Honor Roll.

The 2008 Award Selection Committee includes football coaches David Bailiff, Gary Barnett, Fisher DeBerry, Dennis Franchione, June Jones, Chuck Knox, Gary Patterson, Buddy Pough and Dick Tomey. Former Washington Redskins quarterback and Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams and former Los Angeles Rams running back and Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee Eric Dickerson also join the committee for 2008. Prominent businessman Peter Murphy, Jr., will again serve as Chairman.

A full list of nominees is available at www.RudyAwards.com. Finalists will be announced on December 16. If a finalist presently is receiving a full scholarship, or graduates prior to the award presentation, the award will be made in the player’s name to the general scholarship fund of the college or university.

Kansas State University Athletics

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