IRVING, Texas-- Five Trine football seniors were recognized by the National Football Foundation as members of the 2015 NFF Hampshire Honors Society, the foundation announced Wednesday.
Zachary Hess (Eagle, Mich./Grand Ledge), Austin J. Shoemaker (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North), Jacob Turner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger), Aaron Wolf (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) and Anthony Yoder (Goshen, Ind./Concord) were all recognized as members of the 2015 NFF Hampshire Honors Society. The society is comprised of football players from all divisions who each maintained a G.P.A. of at 3.2 throughout their college careers. Each student-athlete will receive a certificate commemorating the achievement.
A total of 817 players from 278 schools qualified for membership in the society's ninth year, setting a new record for the number of schools represented in the history of the program.
"We continue to raise the bar each year for the number of student-athletes who qualify for membership in the Hampshire Honor Society," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "The Hampshire Honor Society plays an important role in highlighting that college football players clearly play a leadership role in the classroom as well as on the playing field. We congratulate each of these young men for their commitment to excellence."
Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include being a starter or contributer in one's last year of eligibility, achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average throughout the entire course of undergraduate study, and meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.
Trine finished last season 6-4 overall, with a 4-2 record in MIAA play to tie for second in the conference. Troy Abbs was named the new head coach of the Thunder following the season, after previous head coach Matt Land accepted a new vice-president title at Trine.
The Thunder saw success on and off the gridiron this year, with one All-Region selection, nine All-MIAA performers and Wolf becoming the first Academic All-American in team history.