NFF Release
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Fourteen Saint John's University graduates attended the third annual Campbell Trophy Summit, sponsored by Intuit, Inc., Aug. 14-17 at Stanford University.
Seven of the 14 SJU participants were among 214 pervious Campbell Trophy nominees in attendance: wide receiver Blake Elliott '03, linebacker David Franta '18, wide receiver
Will Gillach '19, cornerback Dominic Haik '10, linebacker Carter Hanson '17, running back Stephen Johnson '13 and tight end Zach McBroom '02. Hanson was a Campbell Trophy finalist, earning a $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, and won the Gagliardi Trophy as NCAA Division III's most outstanding player in the fall of 2016.
The summit provided an opportunity for the members of the Campbell Trophy community to interact and learn from many of the nation's top entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley CEOs about the lessons that have guided them to the highest levels of success. The event also included a career expo with more than a dozen companies on site recruiting the attendees. Organized as a tribute to the late Bill Campbell, the award's namesake, the event serves as a vehicle for the many leaders impacted by Campbell to pass on his insights for leadership and personal growth to the next generation.
Campbell, who played and coached at Columbia before a switch to the business world, became one of the most influential individuals in Silicon Valley as CEO and chairman of Intuit and a board member of Apple and Google. He developed a unique reputation, earning the moniker as the "Coach of Silcom Valley" for using the lessons of the gridiron as he mentored; Steve Jobs of Apple, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt of Google, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, Scott Cook and Brad Smith of Intuit, and countless others.
MWF Advisors CEO Mark Flynn '78, a former SJU linebacker and member of the Johnnies' 1976 national championship team, was a volunteer coach for an eighth-grade boys-and-girls' flag-football team with Campbell and has played the lead role in organizing the event since its inception in 2017.
In addition to teammate and quarterback Jeff Norman '78, Flynn was joined by safety Garrett Ackerman '17 and center Josh Dirlam '03. Rob Culligan '82, SJU's vice president for institutional advancement, and two fathers of Campbell Trophy nominees – Mark Franta '80 and Jim Gillach '90 – also attended the summit.
The four-day event included leadership workshops, a career expo, team building activities and a physical and mental competition dubbed the "Campbell Championship Series." The panels covered a wide range of topics designed to foster leadership, personal growth and the career development of the attendees. The sessions included a Hall of Fame panel with Ronnie Lott (USC), 1983 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Steve Young (BYU) and retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal, among others.
Companies participating in the career expo included Altamont Capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deloitte, Enjoy, EY, Google, Intuit, JMI Sports, McChrystal Group, SoFi, Sonim Technologies, WeDriveU and the XFL as well as professionals from the medical and real state fields.
