Peterson Named National Scholar-Athlete by National Football Foundation
DALLAS, Texas – Senior Ethan Peterson (Rutland, Vt.) of the MIT football team has been selected for a National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award the organization announced today. He is one of 15 honorees from across all divisions of college football selected for the award. The 15 will also comprise the list of finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy that recognizes the best scholar-athlete in the nation. Peterson is the sixth football player at MIT to be selected for the prestigious award.
Peterson was selected from a nationwide pool of 147 semifinalists from all NCAA and NAIA divisions and is one of two Division III players named as finalists, all of whom will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. All 15 members of the 2012 National Scholar-Athlete class will attend the 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City on December 4 where they will receive their scholarship awards and the winner of the Campbell Trophy will be announced.
A three-year starter on the offensive line and a co-captain this season, Peterson was a first team All-New England Football Conference pick in 2011, his second all-conference honor. A two-time Academic All-NEFC selection, Peterson was also named a second team Capital One Academic All-American after last season and has played in every game during his MIT career.
Other MIT players to have earned this honor and the year that they earned it are Anthony Lapes (1989), Darcy Prather (1990), Rodrigo Rubiano (1991), Roddy Tranum (1992) and Brad Gray (1997).
The members of the 2012 National Scholar-Athlete class are:
| SCHOLAR-ATHLETE | POSITION | SCHOOL | GPA | MAJOR |
| MATT BARKLEY | QB | Southern California | 3.21 | Communications |
| REX BURKHEAD | RB | Nebraska | 3.43 | History |
| CODY DAVIS | S | Texas Tech | 3.70 | Management Info. Systems |
| NICK DRISKILL | S | Mount Union (Ohio) | 3.77 | Exercise Science |
| NICK FLORENCE | QB | Baylor | 3.79 | Economics |
| NABAL JEFFERSON | DT | Northern Illinois | 3.78 | Accounting |
| BARRETT JONES | C | Alabama | 4.00 | Accounting |
| AARON MULLANE | OL | West Texas A&M | 3.84 | Biology & Chemistry |
| RYAN NASSIB | QB | Syracuse | 3.57 | Finance & Manag. Accounting |
| NOLAN NEARHOOF | DE | Robert Morris | 3.73 | Biology |
| ETHAN PETERSON | OL | MIT | 3.83 | Nuclear Engineering & Physics |
| SEAN RENFREE | QB | Duke | 3.40 | Public Policy Studies |
| MANTI TE'O | LB | Notre Dame | 3.32 | Graphic Design |
| PATRICK WARD | OT | Northwestern | 3.94 | Mechanical Engineering |
| SHANE ZACKERY | WR | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 3.71 | Business Management |