KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Anthony Gebhart was recently named Division I Scholar Athlete of the Year and recipient of the John S. Pingel Award by the Michigan Chapter of the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame. Gebhart, an economics major with a 3.83 GPA, will be honored this month at a banquet and will receive a plaque and a $1,000 scholarship towards graduate school.

Gebhart, who was recently named First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District, will be honored at the Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Team Banquet, which will take place on at 7 p.m. on Dec. 12 at the Deerborn Inn. There he will receive a plaque and will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship towards the graduate school of his choice.

The award was based on the student-athletes performance in the classroom, in the community and on the field, as well as how he has succeeded through adversity. Gebhart is one of the team leaders in community service and efforts in the classroom speak for themselves. He came to the Bronco football program as a Division III (Lake Forest College) transfer that walked-on, eventually earned a scholarship and was named captain as a senior.

Gebhart finished the season second on the team with 84 tackles (49 solo). He led the team with two interceptions and led his defensive unit with 6.0 tackles for loss. He added three additional pass deflections and four kick returns for a 21.2 yards per return average. He appeared in every game for the second season in a row and made a career-high eight starts, giving him 10 for his career.

The Addison, Ill., native finished his career with 129 tackles (73 solo), 7.0 TFLs, three interceptions and six pass deflections. He had 10 career kick returns for 178 yards (17.8 ypr) and will complete his degree this spring.