NEW ORLEANS - The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today the members of the 2016 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college career.  A total of 12 individuals represented the Sun Belt Conference.
 
Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include: Being a starter or a significant contributor in one's last year of eligibility (or a senior who has declared for the NFL Draft)  at an 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/NAIA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.
 
Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided the endowment to launch the NFF Hampshire Honor Society in 2007. He made the contribution as part of his legacy to the organization after serving as NFF Chairman from 1994-2006. He currently serves the organization as the chairman emeritus. Each player awarded with membership in this year's Honor Society will receive a certificate commemorating their achievement.
 
"It was my great privilege to endow the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which has greatly increased the number of college student-athletes the NFF has been able to recognize during the past 10 years," said Hanson. "Nationwide there are thousands of football players excelling in the classroom, and they're going on to be great leaders. The NFF Hampshire Honor Society continues to grow and allows us to shine a light on their hard work."
 
Sun Belt Conference - 2016 NFF Hampshire Honor Society Membership
 
Appalachian State University
Jesse Chapman
Malachi Jones
 
Arkansas State University
Luke Ferguson
Raziel Velgis
 
Georgia Southern University    
Matt Dobson
Jeff Ward
 
Georgia State University
Nick Arbuckle
Wil Lutz
 
New Mexico State University
Andrew Cunningham
Josh Gibbs
 
University of Idaho
Broc Westlake
 
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Evan Tatford