Fourteen Flyers Named To NFF Hampshire Honor Society - University of Dayton Athletics (2024)

Football 4/10/2024 3:32:00 PM

Fourteen Flyers Named To NFF Hampshire Honor Society

IRVING, Texas – Fourteen University of Dayton football players – cornerback Michael Franks, safety Nicholas Grieser, defensive end Mason Henry, offensive lineman Joe Lansing, safety Matt Lenti, defensive lineman Sam Mueller, running back Michael Neel, defensive lineman Troy Reisner, running back John Sciaretti, wide receiver Joey Swanson, quarterback Will Tammaru, offensive lineman Jackson ward, placekicker Sam Webster, and wide receiver Derek Willits -- have been named to the 2024 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame's (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society.

Now in its 18th year, the Hampshire Society 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 record total of 1,988 players from 339 schools qualified for membership in the society this year.

The Flyers are one of just 23 institutions to have at least one senior qualify for membership in all 18 classes of the Hampshire Society. The others are BYU, Brown, Bucknell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Dayton, Iowa, Johns Hopkins (MD), Kentucky, Lafayette, Minnesota, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Penn State, Redlands (CA), Saint John's (MN), SMU, South Dakota State, Wayne State (MI), West Virginia, Wingate (NC), Yale and Youngstown State.

Dayton is also the only school from the Pioneer Football League.

The top five for total honorees during the 18-year span of the program include Brown (207), Dayton (194), Johns Hopkins (183), Nebraska Wesleyan (149) and Yale (147).

The majors of the Flyers recognized this year include International Business Management, Business Economics, Finance, Health Communications, Marketing, Pre-Med, Sport Management and Mechanical Engineering.

Dayton is one of just nine Division I institutions (and 20 overall) to have at least 14 members of this year's Hampshire Society class. The others are Amherst, Cal, Carnegie Mellon, Colby, Dartmouth, Duke, Gustavus Adolphus, Harvard, Huntingdon, Kansas State, Nebraska, North Dakota, Northwestern, Saint John's (MN), Trinity (TX), Wayne State, Wesleyan and WPI. Nebraska had the most this year with 21.

"We are thrilled to honor a record number of athletes as part of this year's Hampshire Honor Society," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Over the last 18 years, the Hampshire Honor Society has served as a powerful vehicle for schools to recognize their college football players who have distinguished themselves both academically and athletically, and we congratulate the schools and each of these young men for their commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives."

Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided the funds 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 chairman emeritus. Each player awarded membership in this year's Honor Society will receive a certificate commemorating his or her 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 18 years," said Hanson. "Nationwide there are thousands of football players excelling in the classroom, and they are going on to become great leaders."

"We have honored more than 18,000 student-athletes since 2007 thanks to Jon Hanson's generosity," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "We are grateful for his passionate belief in the scholar-athlete ideal, and the Hampshire Honor Society allows us to showcase the names of tomorrow's leaders while inspiring future generations to follow in their footsteps."

The Hampshire Honor Society represents an important component in the organization's rich history as an innovator in promoting the scholar-athlete ideal, which began in 1959 with the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards.