IRVING, TEXAS – The University of Sioux Falls Football Team had an NSIC-high 11 student-athletes honored as members of the 2022 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which was announced today (April 13) by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF).

The society is comprised of college football players from all divisions of the NCAA, NAIA and sprint football who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. An elite group of 1,559 players from 313 schools qualified for membership in 2022, the Society's 16th year. The 1,559 honorees are the second most in a single year during the program's history. The initiative has now honored 14,640 student-athletes since its inception. Nominated by their respective schools, members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must have: completed their final year of playing eligibility in fall 2021, attained a minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.2, met all NCAA-mandated progress toward degree requirements and been starters or significant contributors throughout the 2021 season.

USF honorees include Bryce Couch, Master of Business Administration, Trenton, Ohio; Nate Durfee, Master of Business Administration, Sioux Falls, S.D.; Chris Hill, Master of Business Administration, Bealeton, Va.; Josh Lanasa, Master of Business Administration (health administration), Escanaba, Mich.; Zach Lyons, Master of Business Administration (sports management); Dominic Pegley, Master of Business Administration, Akron, Ohio; Lee Pitts, Master of Business Administration, Agoura Hills, Calif.; Ty Smith, Master of Business Administration, Sioux Falls, S.D.; Ben Sokup, Business Administration, Altoona, Wisc.; Tavian Tumbleson, Master of Education, Mahtomedi, Minn.; and Joey Wehrkamp, Master of Business Administration, Sioux Falls, S.D. With 11 USF student-athletes honored, the Cougars had the most of an NSIC program.

"It's a great honor for these players to be recognized by the NFF Hampshire Honor Society.  Our football players earned this recognition because of their academic and athletic accomplishments while at Sioux Falls," said USF Head Coach Jon Anderson. "I'm excited to see what they do in their post-football careers.  To be the NSIC team with the most honorees is a true honor for all of USF Football as we strive to compete in everything we do on the field and in the classroom," he said.

This group of USF standouts helped the Cougars to its second NSIC South Division title (2021, 2016) and its ninth straight winning season since joining the NSIC in 2012. In addition, the program' .777 winning percentage in NSIC games is the best across the conference. The group is part of a USF program, which has had four NCAA DII playoff appearances and five postseason berths in its DII era (since 2012), has registered seven or more wins in seven consecutive seasons and eight of nine seasons at NCAA DII. Fifty-one players have been named All-NSIC since 2017 and 123 overall since 2012. Also, USF has performed in the classroom with 93 Academic All-NSIC honorees since 2017 and 213 overall.

"As the National Football Foundation celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2022, we are pleased to honor another impressive group of athletes as part of this year's Hampshire Honor Society," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Over the last 16 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."

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's National Scholar-Athlete program by greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization's leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes at the 771 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide.
  
USF is among the 52 schools (only NSIC school) with at least nine honorees in 2022, including Brown, Carnegie Mellon (PA), Catholic (DC), Central (IA), Chadron State (NE), Chicago (IL), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CA), Coastal Carolina, Columbia, Cornell, Cornell Sprint Football, Dartmouth, Davidson, Dayton, DePauw (IN), Franklin & Marshall (PA), Gustavus Adolphus (MN), Hardin-Simmons (TX), Harvard, Hendrix (AR), Hillsdale (MI), Illinois, Iowa State, Ithaca (NY), Johns Hopkins (MD), Kalamazoo (MI), Lake Forest (IL), Loras (IA), Macalester (MN), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio Northern, Peru State (NE), Pomona-Pitzer (CA), Redlands (CA), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY), Rochester (NY), Rose-Hulman (IN), Saint John's (MN), St. Lawrence (NY), St. Thomas, Stanford, Stonehill (MA), Texas A&M-Commerce, Tufts (MA), Union (NY), Washington & Jefferson (PA), Washington Univ. in St. Louis (MO), Wheaton (IL) and Williams (MA).
 
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 with membership in this year's Honor Society will receive a certificate commemorating his 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 16 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 14,000 student-athletes in the last 16 years 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."