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UWO Announces William V. Campbell Trophy Nominee

Named in honor of the late William V. Campbell, the former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, The William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda has become the most prestigious and desirable "academic" award in college football. This year's UW-Oshkosh nominee is senior Mike Olsen.

The trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.

As a supply chain management and finance major, Olsen has a 3.667 grade point average (GPA). In 2019, he received the Dr. Brent Bandy Scholarship. This scholarship was established in honor of Dr. D. Brent Bandy, former professor in the College of Business and is given to one individual with at least a junior standing and a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.3. He or she must also have shown a high level of academic success and must be involved in extracurricular activities (excluding athletics).

Olsen is the president of UWO's Supply Chain Management Club and member of the College of Business Student Advisory Committee.

On the football field, Olsen steered the UW-Oshkosh offensive line that led the WIAC with 14 sacks allowed and 4.7 yards per rushing attempt in 2019. Olsen and the Titan offensive line paved the way for UW-Oshkosh to rank second in the conference with 2,027 rushing yards and 184.3 yards on the ground per game. He was named D3football.com All-America Second Team, D3Football.com All-West Region First Team and All-WIAC First Team. 

As a team, the Titans (8-3) were WIAC Co-Champion (6-1) and advanced First Round of NCAA. This was UW-Oshkosh's fifth NCAA tournament appearance – all in the past eight seasons. The Titan offense averaged 26.5 points and 350 yards per contest while playing a pivotal role in UW-Oshkosh's WIAC-leading 5.27 penalties committed and 43.91 penalty yards per game.

During his sophomore season, Olsen played another key role for a UW-Oshkosh offensive line that paved the way for 14 Titans to combine for 1,247 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. With Olsen assisting the line, the UW-Oshkosh offense ranked third in the conference with 23 sacks allowed. 

UW-Oshkosh had a 6-4 record that season. It was the program's eighth consecutive winning season. The school's only other stretch with eight straight winning seasons was 1918-25.

In 2017, UW-Oshkosh offensive line ceded just 13 sacks on the year and paved the way for 16 Titans to average 5.7 yards per carry and rush for 3,118 yards and 34 touchdowns. The Titans ranked second in the nation by allowing 3.69 tackles for loss per game while listing 12th with 484.5 yards per game and 21st with 239.8 rushing yards per contest.

Olsen was on pace to earn national recognition this year. Earlier in the summer, he was named the CFA Yearbook's Division III Starting Lineup Selection, Lindy's Sports All-NCAA Division III Offense-First Team and Street & Smith's College Football Yearbook Preseason All-American.

To be nominated, a candidate must be: 

  • A senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility;
  • Have a grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale;
  • Have outstanding football ability as a first team player; and 
  • Have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. 

Selected by the NFF Awards Committee in October, the finalists and the winner are all honored at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by ETT in December at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Each finalist receives an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. During the event, one member of the class is selected as the recipient of the Campbell Trophy® presented by Mazda as the best football scholar-athlete in the nation and has his postgraduate scholarship increased to a total of $25,000. The award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy.

Known as "The Coach of Silicon Valley," Bill Campbell became one of our country's most influential business leaders, playing critical roles in the success of Apple, Google, Intuit and countless other high tech companies. The captain of the 1961 Columbia Ivy League championship team, he found his true calling after an unlikely career change at age 39 from football coach to advertising executive. His ability to recruit, develop, and manage talented executives - all lessons learned on the gridiron - proved to be a critical component of his ability to inspire his business teams to the highest levels of success. Later in life, Campbell was driven by a heartfelt desire to give back, and he quietly gave away tens of millions of dollars to multiple charities while also finding an hour and half each autumn weekday to coach an eighth-grade boys and girls flag-football team near his home in Palo Alto, California. Campbell passed away April 18, 2016, at the age of 75.