Morningside College's Beau Kildow, a 5-10, 170 lb. senior wide receiver from Omaha, Neb., is one of 16 college football players named to the 2009 National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar-Athlete class announced by the NFF and College Hall of Fame.

The Campbell Trophy, formerly known as the Draddy Trophy, recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation. The award was renamed this fall in honor of Bill Campbell, the chairman of Intuit, and former player and head coach at Columbia University.

Each finalist will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. The recipient of the Campbell Trophy will receive a 25 lb. bronze trophy and a $25,000 post-graduate scholarship. The 16 National Scholar-Athlete Award recipients will be honored at the 2009 NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where the winner of the 2009 Campbell Trophy will be announced.

Aside from Kildow, the other 2009 National Scholar-Athletes are: Jon Asamoah of the University of Illinois, Matt Bauman of Brigham Young University, Eric Decker of the University of Minnesota, Moses Harris of Fresno State, Tim Hiller of Western Michigan University, Paul Jasinowski of Brown University, Josh Mahoney of the University of Northern Iowa, Colt McCoy of the University of Texas, Jarrell Smith of Tusculum College, Joe Pawelek of Baylor University, Todd Reesing of the University of Kansas, ZaVious Robbins of Hardin-Simmons University, Tim Tebow of the University of Florida, Blaine Westemeyer of Augustana College (Ill.), and Reed Williams of West Virginia University.

Kildow has a 4.00 cumulative grade point average and is majoring in chemistry and biology. He has twice been named a Daktronics-NAIA Football Scholar-Athlete, is a two-time ESPN The Magazine All-District selection, and has made Morningside's Dean's Honor List after each of his first six semesters.

He was a first-team College Fanz Sports Network All-American last season when he caught 64 passes for 977 yards and 14 touchdowns. Kildow tied a Morningside single-game record earlier this season when he had 287 pass reception yards in a 56-21 win against Dakota Wesleyan University and is Morningside's all-time leader with 32 career touchdown receptions. He ranks third in Morningside history with 174 career receptions and 2,755 career reception yards.

Kildow traveled to Louisiana as part of a mission trip to help in the restoration efforts in New Orleans and surrounding areas following the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. He participated in "Build a House for Blake," a volunteer project for a person who had been recently paralyzed, and is a Goodwill Thanksgiving volunteer.

The NFF's National Scholar-Athlete program, launched in 1959, is the first initiative in history to award scholar-athletes post-graduate scholarships for their combined athletic, academic, and leadership abilities.

Candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least a 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. Past winners of the Campbell Trophy have included actor Mark Harmon, NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, former Dateline NBC anchor Stone Phillips, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club Billy Payne, former NFL quarterback Steve Young, current NFL standout Derrick Brooks, and Heisman Trophy winners Terry Baker, Gary Beban, Doug Flutie, and DannyWuerffel.