Stille in Running for Top Scholar-Athlete Honor

Husker D-lineman a semifinalist for William V. Campbell Trophy

Joe Hudson | Sep 29, 2021

Nebraska Athletic Communications

Nebraska defensive lineman Ben Stille was announced Wednesday as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, awarded each year by the National Football Foundation to the nation’s top football scholar-athlete.

It is the second consecutive year Stille has been Nebraska's nominee for the award. The NFF on Oct. 27 will announce 12 to 14 finalists, each of whom will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The winner will be unveiled in Las Vegas on Dec. 7, and his scholarship will be boosted to $25,000.

Vanden Bosch, left, and Zatechka. — Vanden Bosch, left, and Zatechka / National Football Foundation

Stille is one of 176 semifinalists for the award, which is in its 32nd year. Past winners include two Huskers, Rob Zatechka in 1994 and Kyle Vanden Bosch in 2000.

A sixth-year senior from Ashland-Greenwood High School in Nebraska, Stille received his master's degree from Nebraska in May after earning a bachelor's in December 2019. Both degrees were in nutrition and health sciences. Stille is a five-time member of both the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team and the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

On the field, Stille has 27 career starts for the Huskers. He was named to BTN's All-Big Ten Freshman Team in 2017 and was honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2020.

Go here for the NFF's press release and the full semifinalist list, which also includes former Husker Noah Vedral of Rutgers.

Published Sep 29, 2021

JOE HUDSON

Joe Hudson has operated a Husker-related website since 1995 and joined forces with David Max to form HuskerPedia (later renamed HuskerMax) in 1999. It began as a hobby during his 35 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, a career that included stints at the Lincoln Star, Omaha World-Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post. In Denver, Joe was chief of the copy desk during his final 16 years at the Post. He is proud to have been involved in Pulitzer Prize-winning projects in both Philadelphia and Denver. Joe has been a Nebraska football fan since the mid-1960s during his childhood in Omaha. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. He resides a few freeway exits north of Colorado Springs and enjoys bicycling and walking his dogs in his spare time. You can reach him at joeroyhud@outlook.com.