APSU Men’s Football
Dallas, TX – Two Austin Peay State University football players, tight end Brad Williams and defensive end Preston Keck, have been named members of the 2011 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society.
To be eligible for the Hampshire Honor Society, a player must be 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; achieve a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study and meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements and graduation.
Williams and Keck both will graduate this Friday during APSU commencement ceremonies. Keck, who owns a 3.29 GPA as a history major with a geography minor, is a three-time member of the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll and seven-time member of the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll (3.0 GPA), including two semesters on the Dean’s List (3.5 GPA). In 2010, the Rocky Face, GA, native started at defensive end and was credited with 22 tackles.
Williams, meanwhile, owns a 3.53 GPA in business finance with a real estate minor. He was APSU’s nominee for the NFF and College Hall of Fame National Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship. The Clarksville native was a three-time member of the Dean’s List, including one semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA, and seven-time member of the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll. He also has been a member of the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll for three years.
A long snapper during the early part of his career, Williams settled in as a tight end regular, especially in blocking situations during the latter two seasons of his career.
Both players also were nominated for Capital One Academic All-America during the fall.
This is the fifth year for the Hampshire Society. A total of 671 players from 241 schools qualified for membership this year, showing a steady increase in membership each year since the inaugural class in 2007.
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 and further strengthening 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.
Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided an 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. Each of the 671 players awarded with membership in this year’s Honor Society will receive a certificate commemorating their selection.
