Kingsbury Named National Scholar-Athlete

Oct. 24, 2002

LUBBOCK, Texas - The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced today that Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury (New Braunfels, Texas) has been honored as a member of its 2002 National Scholar-Athlete Class, which included student-athletes from all NCAA Divisions and the NAIA.

According to National Football Foundation Chairman Jon F. Hanson, "since 1959, these highly sought after awards have recognized only a chosen few who have excelled above all in the areas of scholarship, citizenship and athletic performance. We are pleased to have this opportunity to honor these outstanding young men for all of their achievements with an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship."

Kingsbury, who holds a degree in business management, is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 Conference First Team selection and was named to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-District Team. He also is a four-time Big 12 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll member and completed his undergraduate degree in three years.

A 2002 Heisman Trophy candidate, few have etched their name in their alma mater's record books as often as Kingsbury. The owner of 37 school and 12 Big 12 records, he was named preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, and has lived up to the billing. Kingsbury has been named the league's offensive player of the week three times this season. Additionally, he has surpassed the 10,000-yard mark in career passing yardage (10,328) and career total offense (10,253) and set the NCAA career record with 1,038 completions.

To be eligible for a National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame post-graduate fellowship, the nominee must be a senior or graduate student in his final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, have shown superior academic application and performance, have outstanding ability as a first team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.

"With 152 exceptional candidates vying for this award, the awards committee was faced with a difficult challenge in selecting this year's class," stated Robert E. Mulcahy III, chairman of the awards committee and director of athletics at Rutgers University. "These 14 scholar-athletes represent the best and brightest each level of college football has to offer."

The 14 scholar-athletes will be recognized at The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's 45th Annual Awards Dinner on December 10 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Also being honored at the dinner will be the 2002 College Football Hall of Fame class, which will share the dais with these scholar-athletes.

Each scholar-athlete will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, and that evening one will receive the HealthSouth Draddy Trophy as the top scholar-athlete in the nation, increasing the scholarship to $25,000.

2002 College Football National Scholar-Athlete Class

Kyle Eaton  Oklahoma State  NCAA Division IHunter Hillenmeyer  Vanderbilt  NCAA Division IBradie James    LSU NCAA Division IChris Kelsay    Nebraska    NCAA Division IKliff Kingsbury   Texas Tech  NCAA Division IJonathan Stinchcomb Georgia NCAA Division I
Cameron Atkinson    Princeton   NCAA Division I-AARyan Johnson    Montana State   NCAA Division I-AAMark Kasmer Dayton  NCAA Division I-AA
Kelby Klosterman    North Dakota    NCAA Division II
Todd Baldwin    Augustana College (IL)  NCAA Division IIIAndrew Hilliard St. Thomas (MN) NCAA Division IIIBrandon Roberts Washington (MO) NCAA Division III
Luke Klinker    Nebraska Wesleyan   NAIA

Texas Tech University Athletics

Kingsbury Named National Scholar-Athlete

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