POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Senior offensive lineman Chris Leonardo of the Marist University football team was named a national semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy on Wednesday.
 
Leonardo is in his fourth season in the program, and he is in his third year as the Red Foxes' starting right tackle. He has started all 25 of Marist's games there since the start of the 2023 season.
 
An Economics major, Leonardo has earned a tremendous amount of academic accolades in his time at Marist. Last year, he was named to the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star Team. He has been named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and First Team Pioneer Football League (PFL) each of the last two years. Leonardo has been named to the PFL Academic Honor Roll for three straight years.
 
The Campbell Trophy is now in its 36^th year. Tying together academic success, on-field performance, and leadership qualities, It is commonly referred to as the "Academic Heisman." This year, there are a total of 177 national semifinalists.
 
The National Football Foundation (NFF) will announce 12-16 finalists on Oct. 22. Each will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The Campbell Trophy winner will be announced on Dec. 9 at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, and his postgraduate scholarship will be increased to $25,000.

The Marist football team (2-1), which has defeated two full scholarship opponents for the first time this season, returns to action on Saturday. The Red Foxes will play their PFL opener at Butler. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m., with coverage on the Red Fox Network set to begin at 12:45.