Thiel College football player, history and secondary education major named to national honor society

Posted April 17, 2020 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College senior linebacker Matt Crawford ’20 was among the 1,459 players from 367 schools that qualified for membership in the 2020 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced Wednesday.

The Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprises college football players from all divisions of play, who maintained a cumulative 3.2 grade-point average or better throughout their college careers. Hampshire Honor Society.

Nominated by their respective schools, members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must have:

Completed their final year of playing eligibility in 2019. Graduated players, who have remaining eligibility but will not return to collegiate play (e.g. declared for NFL Draft or Retired from football), may also be nominated.
Achieved a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study.
Met all NCAA- or NAIA-mandated progress toward degree requirements.
Been starters or significant contributors throughout the 2019 season.

Crawford, of Greenvile, Pa., is a history and secondary education major and a 2016 graduate of Greenville High School. He maintains a 3.97 cumulative grade-point average and was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-American Second Team in December of 2019. Crawford was a member of the 2018 CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team in 2018. A three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 First Team selection, he was a four-time member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Crawford compiled 254 career tackles, the eighth most in program history. He led the PAC in 2019 with an average of 10.1 tackles per game. In his final game as a Tomcat, Crawford made 17 tackles, tying him for the fifth most in a single game in program history. He was a three-time All-PAC Honorable Mention selection.

Crawford was one of 22 PAC players from four league schools to be recognized with 2020 NFF Hampshire Honor Society membership.

Crawford was also among the 185 semifinalists for The National Football Foundation’s William V. Campbell Trophy. The Greenville native has participated in various local community service projects over the years. He took part in “Revamp the Amp,” a project to restore the amphitheater in Greenville. Crawford has also served as the liaison for the Snowflake Ball between Thiel and St. Paul’s Senior Living Community.