University of Wyoming senior fullback Drew Van Maanen has been named one of the semifinalists for the 2017 National Football Foundation (NFF) William V. Campbell Trophy, which honors the nation's best college football scholar-athlete each season.  The award, presented by Fidelity Investments, is in its 28th year.

Van Maanen is one of 181 semifinalists selected for this year's award.  The list of semifinalists will be narrowed down to a list of 12 to 14 finalists on Nov. 1.  Each of the finalists will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class and will travel to the annual NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York City on Dec. 5 where one member of the class will be named the winner.  The winner of the 28th William V. Campbell Trophy will have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.

To qualify for the Campbell Trophy, a student-athlete must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, must have outstanding football ability and be a significant contributor on his team and have a demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship record.  

Van Maanen has a 3.418 cumulative gpa at the University of Wyoming in social science.  He has been a four-year starter for the Cowboys at fullback, has been involved in numerous community service projects and is an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Voted by his teammates as a team captain for the 2017 season, Van Maanen was also a leader of a Wyoming team that captured the 2016 Mountain Division title in the Mountain West Conference.  He helped Wyoming earn the right to host the 2016 Mountain West Conference Championship Game as the highest ranked team in the conference, and was a key contributor to a team that earned a bid to the 2016 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.  Van Maanen helped lead the Cowboys to two wins over Top 25 ranked teams in 2016 – a 30-28 win over No. 13 ranked Boise State and a 34-33 win over No. 24 ranked San Diego State.

Van Maanen was the lead blocker for Wyoming's career and single-season rushing leader Brian Hill in each of Hill's three seasons at Wyoming.  Hill set the Wyoming career rushing record of 4,287 yards from 2014-16 and the single-season school record of 1,860 yards in 2016.  Hill also set new school records for career rushing touchdowns (35) and single-season rushing TDs (22 in 2016).  Thanks to Van Maanen's blocking skills, Hill went on to be named one of 11 Semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award as a sophomore in 2015 and one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award as a junior in 2016.  In 2016, Hill ranked No. 3 in the nation in total rushing yards (1,860) and No. 4 in rushing touchdowns (22).

Van Maanen is a native of Parker, Colo., where he played at Chaparral High School.