NFF Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Saint John's University senior quarterback Aaron Syverson (Minnetonka, Minn.) was named one of 201 semifinalists for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy and is a candidate for the 2023 National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments. 

The NFF and College Football Hall of Fame made the announcement Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Syverson is one of 48 student-athletes from NCAA Division III and one of four nominees from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) for the Campbell Trophy, joining Augsburg linebacker Justin Tverberg, Hamline wide receiver Charlie Wilson and St. Olaf linebacker Ben Hestorff are the others.

Since 1995, 22 Johnnies have been nominated for the Campbell Trophy. SJU is the lone program out of 674 NCAA schools that play football to have nominated a Campbell Trophy scholar-athlete each of the past 21 seasons.

The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation and up to 14 of the candidates will be named recipients of the prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award. Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of 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 must have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. 

Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program awards $18,000 scholarships that can be used for the honorees' postgraduate education. SJU has produced four NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award winners: defensive lineman Michael Wozniak '22 (2022), linebacker Carter Hanson '17 (2016), linebacker Matt Hawn '06 (2005) and wide receiver Chris Palmer '96 (1995).

The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, members of the College Football Hall of Fame and athletics administrators.

The NFF will announce 12-15 finalists on Oct. 25. Each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. One of the finalists will be named the winner of the 34th Campbell Trophy during the 65th Annual NFF Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5 at the ARIA Resort & Casino and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.

An accounting major with a 3.69 GPA, Syverson earned College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors last fall and is expected to receive his second Academic All-MIAC (minimum 3.5 GPA) distinction in January. 

A 2022 All-MIAC selection, Syverson has completed 61.6 percent of his passes (69 of 112) for 808 yards and 11 touchdowns, with only two interceptions, through the season's first three games this fall.

He started all 12 games and ended the 2022 season sixth in all of NCAA Division III in passing yards (3,302) and seventh in passing touchdowns (34).

Syverson has a 19-3 record as a starting quarterback and is currently tied for fourth in program history in 300-yard passing games (5); tied for fifth in completions (451); sixth in passing touchdowns (62), passing yards (5,878) and total offense (6,013 yards); and seventh in pass attempts (701).

Off the field, Syverson was a member of SJU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2021-22 and is a three-year member of SJU Football's Leadership Council. He is in his third year raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as part of the SJU Football team, which raised over $47,000 in 2022 and has already surpassed $62,000 this fall. 

Syverson was named SJU's 2022-23 NovaCare Comeback Athlete of the Year. Honorees must have suffered a substantial injury and be known to SJU's NovaCare Rehabilitation on-campus, physical therapy professionals. NovaCare is the preferred physical therapy and athletic training services provider for Saint John's University.

Syverson passed for 1,768 yards and 17 touchdowns, while leading his team to a 7-0 start during the 2021 season. But Syverson's first season was cut short when he suffered a season-ending leg injury, a broken fibula with torn ligaments, during the Johnnies' 37-7 win on Oct. 23 at Gustavus Adolphus.

No. 7 SJU (2-1, 1-0 MIAC) travels to face Augsburg (3-0, 1-0 MIAC) for a 1 p.m. kickoff this Saturday, Sept. 30, at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis.  

SJU's Campbell Trophy Nominees/Honorees Since 1995
2023 - Quarterback Aaron Syverson '23
2022 - Defensive Lineman Michael Wozniak '23 (Finalist and NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award recipient)
2021 - Quarterback Chris Backes '21 
2020 - Quarterback Chris Backes '21 
2019 - Quarterback Jackson Erdmann '19 
2018 - Wide Receiver Will Gillach '19 
2017 - Linebacker David Franta '18 
2016 - Linebacker Carter Hanson '17 (Finalist and NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award recipient)
2015 - Linebacker Drake Matuska '16 
2014 - Tight End J.T. Ford '15 
2013 - Defensive Back Dylan Graves '14 
2012 - Running Back Stephen Johnson '13 
2011 - Defensive Back Andrew Rotschafer '11 
2010 - Offensive Lineman Jeff Gilbertson '11 
2009 - Defensive Back Dominic Haik '10 
2008 - Running Back Jeff Schnobrich '09 
2007 - Defensive Back John Cloeter '08 
2006 - Linebacker Jamie Steffensmeier '06 
2005 - Linebacker Matt Hawn '06 (Finalist and NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award recipient)
2004 - Linebacker Paul Gans '05 
2003 - Wide Receiver Blake Elliott '03
2002 - No Nominee
2001 - Tight End/Punter Zach McBroom '02 
1996-2000 - No Nominee
1995 - Wide Receiver Chris Palmer '96 (Finalist and NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award recipient)