Official NFF Announcement

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- Hampden-Sydney College senior linebacker and team captain Robert Clarke (Atlanta, GA) has been named a semifinalist for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football's premier scholar-athlete award, as announced today by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF). Robert is among 177 semifinalists from all divisions, while one of three from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and among the 33 elected from NCAA Division III.

Celebrating its 36th year, the Campbell Trophy® recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. Robert is the College's sixth consecutive semifinalist, following Tyler Howerton '21, Kaleb Smith '22, Michael Harris '23, George Langhammer '24 and Will Thomas '25—Howerton went on to become one of 12 finalists for the prestigious award in 2020.

Robert Clarke is a six-time Dean's List honoree majoring in Economics and Business with a minor in Rhetoric and has attained a 3.59 GPA. He is a recipient of the Harrison Honors Scholarship, the Middlecourt Scholarship and the Eagle Scout Scholarship, was selected to the 2024 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® Football Team and is a three-time Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) All-Academic Team (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25) honoree. Clarke is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honors Society and Phi Beta Lambda Business Fraternity, is a member of and former President of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity and a member of the Tiger Athletic Club.

"Robert embodies the qualities of a good man and good citizen," said second-year head coach Vince Luvara. "He excels both on the field and in the classroom, consistently elevating his teammates through his leadership. Robert demonstrates every attribute desired in a leader, A team composed of 100 individuals like Robert Clarke would undoubtedly achieve championship success."

Robert has started all three games this season for the 25th-ranked Tigers (3-0, 1-0 ODAC) and is tied for second on the team with 19 tackles, including 11 solo, with 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and one pass breakup. He has started 11 of 26 career games and has 93 career total tackles, including 43 solo, 7.0 career tackles for loss, 2.0 career sacks, three career pass breakups and two career fumbles recovered. A Second Team All-ODAC selection in 2024, Robert is the son of Tom and Jill Clarke.

The NFF will announce 12-16 finalists on October 22, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2025 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on December 9, 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 36th Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.