Pembroke, Mass., senior placekicker among 19 from NCAA Division II and two from the NE10 named to prestigious list
EASTON, Mass. (September 25, 2019) - For the sixth time over the last seven years, the Stonehill College football program has placed one of its top student-athletes among the semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy®, presented by Mazda, the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Football Hall of Fame announced today.
Senior placekicker Matt Haite is among an impressive list of 185 semifinalists across all levels of college football, including 19 from NCAA Division II and one of just two from the Northeast-10 Conference. Haite has earned a 3.37 cumulative grade point average as an economics major at Stonehill, with a minor in sport commerce and culture. He earned a spot on the NE10 Academic All-Conference team as a junior and been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll the last four semesters, receiving Academic Distinction status for having a semester GPA between 3.50 and 3.99 in the Spring 2019 semester, and Athletic Director's Honor Roll three semesters.
On the field, Haite is an All-NE10 third team selection as a junior and has been selected to The Fred Mitchell Award Preseason "Watch List" four times over his career. He has been named the NE10 Special Teams Player of the Week three times over his career, including twice through the first three weeks of the 2019 season. Haite ranks third among NE10 leaders for kicker scoring with his 18 points this season, good for fifth in the NE10 overall. He leads the NE10 with nine made PATs and is fourth for made field goals with four. Haite is also averaging 62.4 yards per kick on his 15 kickoffs this fall with ten touchbacks. He is 2-for-2 on field goal attempts between 30 and 39 yards and 1-for-2 on attempts over 40 yards after the first three weeks, including a personal-best 51-yard field goal at Saint Anselm College on Saturday, which was just a yard shy of the program mark.
Haite, named to the NE10 All-Rookie Team as a freshman, now ranks second in program history with 32 career field goals – just one shy of the program record of 33 by Steve Grzywacz, '16. He is also second in program history with 91 career PAT conversions, 22 behind Grzywacz's record of 113 and third in scoring with 187 points, 25 behind Grzywacz's program mark of 212 points. Haite is on pace to finish second all-time for career PAT percentage at 92.9-percent (91-for-98), trailing just Brendan Gorey, '10 (93.2%), and field goal percentage at 69.9% (32-for-46).
Haite is also active in the community, volunteering his time in his hometown with the Kingston Police Department "Night Out" program, Kingston Recreational Summer Camp, NFL Flag football program and the Silver Lake Youth Basketball Association. He was a volunteer assistant at Boston Higasi School for Autism, cooked and served food at Major John Branford Homestead for the Jones River Historical Society and volunteered at Angelo Elementary School in Brockton and the Stonehill Farm.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on October 30, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 10, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 30th Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda is a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total postgraduate scholarship of $25,000. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.7 million. Last week, Mazda announced a three-year partnership to sponsor the Campbell Trophy®, kicking off the automaker's Power of Potential Platform.
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 61st year in 2019. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments, and the NFF has recognized 854 outstanding individuals since their inception. The Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda was first awarded in 1990 and is celebrating its 30th year in 2019. The trophy adds to the program's prestige, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and six first-round NFL draft picks.
Stonehill (2-1, 1-0 NE10) has its bye week this weekend, before returning to action on Saturday, October 5, to host American International College for its Purple & White Game at W.B. Mason Stadium at 1 p.m.
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