BullsVision: Chaz Hine on NFF Scholar-Athlete Award
National Football Foundation Release
TAMPA - University of South Florida senior Chaz Hine has been named a 2011 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, and, as a result, is now a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, the NFF announced on Wednesday.
"I'm honored and humbled to be considered for such a prestigious award," said Hine. "I've had a lot of help along the way and I can't thank those people enough. Breaking the mold of what people perceive athletes to be is something I've tried to do during my time at USF. I'm so thankful that there are awards like the NFF Scholar-Athlete Award because it recognizes the accomplishments of not just this group of 16 honorees, but also all of the student-athletes across the country, who put as much time into their studies as they do their athletics."
The NFF Awards Committee selected 16 recipients and each will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. Members of the 2011 National Scholar-Athlete Class will travel to New York City to be honored Dec. 6 during the 54th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. One member of the class will also be announced live at the event as the winner of the Campbell Trophy.
"Chaz Hine is an incredible young man," USF head coach Skip Holtz said. "When you look at everything he's accomplished in the classroom, on the field and just in life, he's a great example of what a student-athlete should be. He has so many qualities - dedication, leadership, determination - which is why his teammates voted him captain this year. It isn't hard to see why he's had so much success at South Florida and will continue to as he moves on."
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 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.
Tabbed "Most Remarkable" out of the USF College of Business' 25 Under 25, Hine graduated Magna Cum Laude from USF's Honors College in May with a degree in business management and is currently working towards an M.B.A. He was named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team in both 2009 and 2010. Hine also earned a spot on the ESPN Academic All-District 3 team in 2010.
Hine is a founding member of the Student Coalition Against Homelessness and Poverty, a service organization developed by a group of Honors College students. Their purpose is to educate students about the gravity of the situation, absolve stereotypes and link students to volunteer opportunities in the community aimed to help poverty-stricken families and individuals. Hine is also active in Disciples for Life, a student-led campus ministry that fosters relationships between students and Jesus Christ. In addition, he has been involved in visits to the Shriner's Hospital for Children and served as a guest singer for the USF Women's Club general meeting.
A Lithia, Fla. native, Hine has played in 40 career games, starting 32, including all seven this season. After switching from guard to center for his senior campaign, Hine has been a leader of USF's high-powered offense, which ranks 16th nationally in total offense (478.9 ypg), 25th in rushing offense (196.7 ypg) and 26th in scoring offense (34.7 ppg). Originally a walk-on to the football team, Hine used a redshirt year in 2007 before playing in seven games in 2008. He went on to start 12-of-13 games in 2009 and all 13 in 2010.
In addition to his work and in the classroom, community and on the field, Hine has been heavily involved in the arts, serving as the male lead in the musicals "Les Misérables," "Grease," and "Hello, Dolly."
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 increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total post-graduate scholarship of $25,000. A total distribution of $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $9.8 million. Launched in 1959, the NFF scholar-athlete program became the first initiative in history to award post-graduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments. The Campbell Trophy, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program's mystique, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and five first-round NFL draft picks.
