Marcus Ward

Former Western Kentucky football player Marcus Ward has earned his place as a 2018 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society member, it was announced Wednesday morning. Ward achieved at least a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 during his entire Hilltopper career.

Ward finished his career at WKU with 143 tackles. The safety racked up 9.5 tackles for loss, 13 passes defended and a pair of interceptions. From 2013-17, WKU boasted a 45-21 overall record. The Hilltoppers won back-to-back Conference USA championships in 2015 and 2016, and had three consecutive bowl wins from 2014-16.

Ward graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2016, and was pursuing a master’s degree in the same field of study in his final year of eligibility. He was previously honored by the NFF in both 2016 and 2017 as a William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist, which recognizes the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.

In August 2017, the Birmingham, Ala., native attended the three-day Campbell Trophy Summit in Stanford, Calif.

An all-time high 1,251 players from a record-tying 302 schools qualified for membership in the society’s 12th year.

The initiative has now honored 8,994 student-athletes since its inception, and the program has experienced growth every year in either members or school participation since its launch in 2007.