Wistrom Earns National Football Foundation Scholarship

Morristown, N.J. - University of Nebraska tight end Tracey Wistrom headlines a group of 16 recipients who were selected as National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes Thursday afternoon.

Each scholar-athlete will be awarded an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and will be honored at the Foundation's 44th Annual Awards Dinner held at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, Dec. 11, 2001. This year's class has an average grade-point average of 3.72 on a 4.0 scale.

To be eligible for a National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame postgraduate fellowship, the nominee must be a senior or graduate student in his final year of eligibility, have a grade-point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, have shown superior academic application and performance, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.

An Academic All-American candidate, Wistrom is a contender for the John Mackey Award this season after hauling in 19 passes for 290 yards and and a pair of touchdowns. A two-time All-Big 12 selection, Wistrom holds NU's school record for tight ends with 1,117 yards and ranks second in that category with 56 receptions. A team captain this season, he was a third-team All-American by The Associated Press after hauling in 19 passes for 314 yards and five scores in 2000.

In the classroom, the 6-5, 240 pound, mathematics major is a two-time academic All-Big 12 selection and volunteers at the Peoples City Mission, at National American Education Week, and at "I've Got Heart" card series, speaking to students on the importance of overcoming adversity.

"With 172 outstanding candidates competing for this year's awards, the selection of the scholar-athletes was a difficult challenge for the Awards Committee. The committee chose what it feels is a sensational group that represents the ideals of the Foundation with great distinction," Robert E. Mulcahy III, chairman of the Awards Committee and director of athletics at Rutgers University, said.

At the Awards Dinner on Dec. 11, one scholar-athlete will receive the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy. Often termed the "Academic Heisman," this award provides the winner with a $25,000 scholarship toward his postgraduate studies. Nebraska has two Draddy Winners, including last year's winner Kyle Vanden Bosch and 1994 winner Rob Zatechka, since the award's inception in 1990.

In all, he is NU's 19th NFF/College Football Hall of Fame Scholarship winner since the program's inception in 1959. Wistrom is the second Husker to earn a major academic scholarship this week, as senior offensive tackle Dave Volk received a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship from NACDA on Tuesday.