Hamilton, NY — 51³Ô¹ÏÍø senior tight end John Frieser (Maine-Endwell H.S./Endwell, NY) was one of 15 recipients named today by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame to receive the organization’s prestigious National Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship Award.
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‘Since 1959, these highly sought after awards have recognized only a chosen few who have excelled above all in the areas of scholarship, citizenship and athletic performance,’ said National Football Foundation Chairman Jon F. Hanson. ‘We are pleased to honor these outstanding young men for all of their achievements with an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship.’
To be eligible for a National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame post-graduate 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.
Frieser, a three-year starter for the Raiders, twice has earned first team all-Patriot League recognition. Regarded as a legitimate pass-catching threat, he has caught 56 passes for 837 yards and seven touchdowns in his career.
In the classroom, he has been equally impressive. The sociology and anthropology major has twice earned CoSIDA District I Academic All-America honors, was named to the Athletics Director’s Association Academic team in 2002, is a three-time member of the Patriot League Academic honor roll, a member of the Lambda Alpha and Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Societies, and a six-time recipient of the Dean’s Award.
A leader on the team and in the community, Frieser, a co-captain in 2003, is a Helping Hands volunteer and tutor at a local elementary school. He is also a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, which hosts numerous blood drives and puts on an Easter Egg Hunt for local children.
He will be recognized at The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame’s 46th Annual Awards Dinner on December 9, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Also being honored at the dinner will be the 2003 College Football Hall of Fame class, which will share the dais with the student-athletes.
Frieser is the third 51³Ô¹ÏÍø football player to receive this honor ‘ joining Angelo Colosimo in 1979 and Tom Stenglein in 1985.