Football | December 06, 2016

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Western Michigan quarterback Zach Terrell has been named the 2016 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete of the Year and recipient of the William Campbell Trophy. The three-year captain is Western Michigan's second NFF National Scholar-Athlete in program history and first Campbell Trophy recipient.

Described by head coach P.J. Fleck as "the best young man I've ever been around," Zach Terrell graduated cum laude in 3.5 years while leading one of the MAC's best offenses.

Terrell is currently pursuing his MBA after graduating with a 3.66 GPA in finance last December. A two-time Academic All-MAC selection, he was twice named a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete, and he is a six-time member of the Dean's List. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native was the 2015 recipient of the John Gill Scholar-Athlete Award. 

The three-time All-MAC quarterback won the 2016 Mid-American Conference Vern Smith Leadership Award. Western Michigan's all-time leader in career completion percentage, Terrell has led the Broncos to a 13-0 regular season, including the team's first New Year's Six bowl berth at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2, 2017 vs. Wisconsin. Terrell saw the Broncos win their first Mid-American Championship since 1988 when they defeated Ohio last Friday.

In his career, Terrell has led Western Michian to three consecutive bowl berths, including the first bowl victory in school history at the 2015 Bahamas Bowl. Boasting the top two single-season completion percentages in Western Michigan history, he owns the record for most career passing yards in WMU history with 11,947 yards. He is second in passing touchdowns (95).

Terrell has twice been named the MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week in 2016. 

A stalwart in the community, Terrell was named to the 2016 AFCA Good Works Team. He has received multiple awards for his service, including the 2014-15 WMU Community Service Award, 2014 Idaho Potato Bowl Humanitarian Award and 2014 WMU Coxswain Spring Leadership Award. Terrell led a mission trip to the Dominican Republic; serves as a leader in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes; and mentors students at Tree of Life. A Special Olympics volunteer, he has volunteered for MLK day of service; visited kids at Bronson Children's Hospital; and participated in the Project Incentive Christmas program. Terrell has also served food at shelters; volunteered at football camps; and donated his time as a guest speaker for various organizations. 

The trophy is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the former chairman of Intuit, a former player and head coach at Columbia University, and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, who passed away this year on April 18. The award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $7,000 increase in postgraduate funds for a total scholarship of $25,000. A total distribution of $223,000 in scholarships will be awarded Dec. 6, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $11.1 million. 

The NFF National Scholar-Athlete program, launched in 1959, became the first initiative in history to award scholar-athletes postgraduate scholarships for their combined athletic, academic and leadership abilities. Including the 2016 recipients, the NFF has honored 828 individuals with National Scholar-Athlete Awards. The honorees have used the financial support to earn more than 150 medical degrees, 100 law degrees, 80 MBAs and 43 PhDs. Continuing their excellence on the field, 175 recipients have played in the NFL with an average career of six seasons or double the length of a typical NFL player. Past recipients also include 13 Rhodes Scholars. 

Terrell joins an elite list of student-athletes in the history of the game, including NFL standout Drew Brees (Purdue); actor Mark Harmon (UCLA); Robert Morris University President Chris Howard (Air Force); NCAA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Oliver Luck (West Virginia); NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins (Illinois) and Leland Melvin (Richmond); chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters Tournament, Billy Payne (Georgia); famed NFL quarterback Steve Young (BYU); and 34 College Football Hall of Famers, including 2016 electees Derrick Brooks (Florida State) and Pat McInally (Harvard).