IRVING, Texas – Defensive back and Eastern Kentucky University captain, Jaheim Ward has been named as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy by the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame (NFF).
 
The Campbell Trophy is known as college football's premier scholar-athlete award. To qualify as a nominee candidates must be a senior who will compete in the 2025 season or a graduate student or graduate transfer who has already earned a degree and is participating in the 2025 season; have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale; have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor; and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
 
The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, NFF College Football Hall of Famers, and athletics administrators.
 
Ward earns the recognition after posting a 3.6 GPA while studying sport management, amassing quite a resume on the field as well.
 
Since joining EKU as a transfer in 2024, Ward has earned Second Team All-UAC (2024) honors, as well as being named preseason All-UAC, and a preseason All-American in 2025.
 
Through four games this season, Ward has earned a team-leading 34 total tackles, 19 solos, two tackles for loss, one pass breakup, and one forced fumble.
 
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 67th year in 2025. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments, and the NFF has recognized 938 outstanding individuals since the program's inception. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $13.2 million.