MacGinnis Named Semifinalist for 2017 Campbell Award
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky kicker Austin MacGinnis has been named a semifinalist for the prestigious 2017 Campbell Award, it was announced by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. The award recognizes the nation’s best football scholar-athlete.
MacGinnis, a four-year starting kicker, will be etched in the record books as one of the most prolific kickers in school history. Just four games into his senior season, the Wedowee, Alabama native has already compiled 292 points and needs just 13 more to become UK’s all-time leading scorer with Lones Seiber (305 in 2006-09). He currently holds the school records for most field goals in a career (58), longest field goal (54 yards), most consecutive field goals made (11), most points in a season (104), most field goals in a season (21), most extra points in a season without a miss (41 of 41) and most kickoff touchbacks in a season (25).
This season, MacGinnis has made 8-of-11 field goals, with the only misses coming from 48, 48 and 57 yards. He scored all of UK’s points in the second half at South Carolina with his trio of field goals, keeping the Gamecocks at bay. Because of his steady play, he was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week and earned one of three “Stars of the Week” from the Lou Groza Award.
Off the field, MacGinnis also excels in the classroom. He graduated in May of 2017 from the Gatton College of Business and Economics with a degree in finance. He is currently working on a master’s of science degree in finance with a projected graduation date of May of 2018. He is a four-time member of the Gatton College of Business Honor Roll, a three-time Southeastern Conference Honor Roll member and a three-time member of the UK Athletics Director’s Honor Roll, earning the highest grade point average on the football team for a given semester.
He’s also been active in community service projects, including visiting with sick children at Wolfson Children’s Hospital at the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, participating in a one-week service/educational trip to Ethiopia in 2015 where he interacted with residents of impoverished communities, visited imprisoned men, helped widows, cared for orphans, and helped renovate houses. He also has stayed after practice to spend time with the Special Olympics, served food to homeless people for Lighthouse Ministries and served as volunteer for Bud Asher’s Kick Back to Central Florida Clinic in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF’s Gold Medal, the Campbell Trophy® is a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient’s grant by $7,000 for a total postgraduate scholarship of $25,000, which is endowed by HealthSouth. This year’s postgraduate scholarships will push the program’s all-time distribution to more than $11.3 million. Since 2013, the Campbell Trophy® has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Nov. 1, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 28th William V. Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
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