Purdue’s Joe Holland Named NFF National Scholar-Athlete & Lott Trophy Quarterfinalist 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue’s Joe Holland got a double dose of good news on Wednesday as he was announced as one of 16 football players named as recipients of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards and also one of 20 semifinalists for the 2011 Ronnie Lott IMPACT Trophy.
 
Holland becomes the third Boilermaker in school history to be named a NFF National Scholar-Athlete and the first since All-American quarterback Drew Brees in 2000. Defensive tackle Ken Loushin was also feted by the NFF in 1979.
 
Each finalist will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship at the 54th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 6 at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City, and one of the 16 will be announced  as the 22nd recipient of the William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation. Named in honor of Bill Campbell, the chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University, and the 2004 recipient of the NFF’s Gold Medal, the award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 post-graduate scholarship. A total distribution of $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded that evening.
 
The quarterfinalist list for the Lott Trophy includes four defensive linemen, six linebackers and 10 defensive backs. There are six players from the Big Ten, four from the SEC, three from the Pac-12, three from the ACC, two from the Big-12 and one each from the Big East and an independent, Notre Dame.
 
Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, the Lott Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its eighth year, the Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.
 
Holland and his Boilermaker teammates will take on 17th-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor this Saturday.