Washington U. Football Lands Nine on 2012 NFF Hampshire Honor Society

St. Louis, Mo., May 2, 2012 – Washington University had nine student-athletes named to the 2012 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF announced on Wednesday.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society is comprised of 721 college football players from all divisions of play, who each maintained a 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college career.

Seniors Ed Ferguson, Daniel Grimm, Matt Hasmonek, Nate Kempema, Kyle Larkin, Jake Lewis, John Meikel, Joe Rhein and Daniel Sufranski each earned the honor for Washington University.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's current National Scholar-Athlete program, greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization's leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes who play football at the more than 700 college and universities with football programs nationwide.

Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include: being a starter or a significant substitute in one's last year of eligibility at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, or an NAIA college or university; achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study; and meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements and graduation.

Washington University finished the 2011 season with a 6-4 overall record and placed second in the University Athletic Association (UAA) with a 2-1 record. The Bears open the 2012 season against three-time defending NCAA Division III national champion University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Friday, Aug. 31, at 8:30 p.m.