Sept. 25, 2014

IRVING, Texas – Senior wide receiver Damiere Byrd was selected as one of 167 semifinalists for the 2014 William V. Campbell Trophy® presented by Fidelity Investments®, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today.

Byrd has played in 38 games during his career at South Carolina, making 17 starts. He has accumulated 1,056 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in just over three seasons. In 2014, he has scored two touchdowns on three receptions.

In the classroom, the Sicklerville, N.J., native, is a sport and entertainment management major, and is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll three times.

The Campbell Trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation, and up to 16 of the candidates will be named recipients of a prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award, also presented by Fidelity Investments.

Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program awards $18,000 scholarships that can be used for the honorees’ postgraduate educations. This year’s recipients will be announced Oct. 30, and one will be declared the winner of the Campbell Trophy Dec. 9 at the 57th NFF Annual Awards Dinner.

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 $10.7 million.

“These 167 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. “It is important for us to showcase their success on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. This year’s semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders.”