LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A list of 43 student-athletes from across the nation have been nominated for the 2024 Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II College Football Player of the Year.

A total of nine nominees hail from Super Region 1, 12 from Super Region 2, 11 from Super Region 3 and 11 from Super Region 4.

Central Missouri’s Zach Zebrowski, the 2023 Hill recipient and a 2024 nominee from Super Region 3 could become the fifth repeat winner in award history. Slippery Rock quarterback Brayden Long, Valdosta State quarterback Sammy Edwards and Central Washington safety Tanner Volk return after reaching the finalist stage. Running back Jada Byers, a 2022 finalist from Virginia Union, also appears on the initial ballot.

The sports information directors at the 159 NCAA Division II football-playing institutions nominate and vote on the award. The 43 initial candidates will be placed on regional ballots and the top two players from each of the four NCAA regions will advance to the national ballot when regional voting concludes on Monday, December 2.

The sports information directors at their respective schools initially nominate candidates. The SIDs in those Super Regions vote for their top five candidates. The winner is then determined in a nationwide vote of the Division II sports information directors.

The group of 43 candidates includes 16 quarterbacks, nine running backs, six wide receivers, four defensive linemen, three defensive backs, two linebackers, a fullback, a return specialist and a kicker.

The list features 24 seniors, 17 juniors and two sophomores.

The winner of the 2024 award will be announced on Friday, December 20.

The Hill Trophy is named for the late Harlon Hill – the former University of North Alabama standout – who excelled with the Lions from 1950-53 before going on to fame in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Clarence “Bevo” Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements.  This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.

Here is the Watch List of the Top 100 Players to be considered for the award:

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PINEVILLE, La. – A shortened season in the spring could not stop two members of the Louisiana College football team of making their name on the national stage as Devin Briscoe was named a Second Team All-American while Micah Latin was named Second Team All-Region by D3Football. 

Briscoe, a junior running back from Cecilia, La., impressed in his first season in the orange and blue, adding the D3Football Second Team All-American honor to his First Team All-American Southwest Conference honor. Briscoe rushed 96 times for 648 yards and four touchdowns during the 5-game spring 2021 season. He twice rushed for more than 200 yards in a contest, going for 202 yards and two scores against D3 power Mary Hardin-Baylor and followed that up a week later with a 231-yard one touchdown day against McMurry in the season finale. 

Latin, a junior defensive lineman from Gloster, La., grew into a stabilizing force along the end of the defensive line as he was named Second Team All-Region by D3Football, adding that award to his Defensive Lineman of the Year Award from the American Southwest Conference as well as First Team All-Conference. He had 29 total tackles during the five-game spring 2021 season, including seven tackles for loss and four sacks. 

The Wildcats completed their spring 2021 pandemic season with a 2-3 overall record and a 2-2 record in conference. LC will be in the NAIA and the Sooner Athletic Conference for the regularly scheduled fall 2021 season. Opening day of the 2021 season is set for August 28^th against North American University. Kickoff against the Stallions is set for 5:00 P.M. at Wildcat Field. 

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INDIANAPOLIS – NCAA Division III championships in fall sports for 2020-21 are canceled. With the health and safety of the division’s student-athletes, coaches, athletics administrators and communities as its priority, the Division III Presidents Council made the decision Wednesday to cancel the championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related administrative and financial challenges.

The Board of Governors directed each division to make a decision on its fall sport championships. It also agreed to require all members institutions to apply the resocialization principles to fall sports and set a 50 percent sponsorship threshold for a fall sport championship to be conducted.

“Looking at the health and safety challenges we face this fall during this unprecedented time, we had to make this tough decision to cancel championships for fall sports this academic year in the best interest of our student-athlete and member institutions,” said Tori Murden McClure, chair of the Presidents Council and president at Spalding.

“Our Championships Committee reviewed the financial and logistical ramifications if Division III fall sports championships were conducted in the spring and found it was logistically untenable and financially prohibitive. Our Management Council reached the same conclusion. Moving forward, we will try to maximize the championships experience for our winter and spring sport student-athletes, who unfortunately were short-changed last academic year.”

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The list is compiled of the 10 programs that have earned the most victories from 2010-2019.

[Editor’s note: Southeast Sports Net covers college and high school sports in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and beyond. This list is confined to D-II, D-III and NAIA programs in the eight states named.]

10. Carson-Newman Eagles (75-39)
The Eagles earned a couple of South Atlantic Conference titles in the decade and stayed steady in the upper half of the league standings. They also made four playoff appearances, going 3-4 in the postseason.

T-8. Cumberlands Patriots (77-34)
The Patriots finished the decade with back-to-back 10-win seasons and earned four double-digit win totals in that time. Cumberlands made five trips to the playoffs and won five playoff games, making the national semifinals in 2013.

T-8. Tuskegee Golden Tigers (77-34)
Nine seasons with a winning record and six trips to the postseason helped Tuskegee to find a place on this list. Picking up 77 wins with only one season with a double-digit win total shows the consistency of the program.

7. Centre Colonels (78-26)
The Colonels won or shared three SAA titles and made three trips to the playoffs and stayed at or above .500 in each season.

6. Georgetown Tigers (79-30)
A dichotomy in the decade for the Tigers – the first five years saw five playoff berths and the last five saw only one. Still, six trips to the postseason in 10 years and no losing records in that span.

5. Thomas More Saints (81-26)
Although in the NAIA now, the Saints picked up most of their wins in D-III. Four times, Thomas More won or shared a Presidents Athletic Conference title and four times it went to the D-III playoffs. The only losing record came in the first season with a full NAIA slate – 2019.

4. Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders (82-33)
The Raiders are on a roll with five playoff appearances in the last six years. Lindsey Wilson made it to the national semis in 2019 and are poised to make another run, if there is football in 2020.

3. Lenior-Rhyne Bears (83-36)
This decade has been a roller coaster ride for Bears fans with four double-digit win seasons and a pair of back-to-back three-win years. But the good years were very good years with five trips to the playoffs and a national runner-up finish in 2013.

2. Winston-Salem State (84-30)
The start of the 2010s was the better half of the decade for the Rams, which included a 37-4 stretch from 2011-13. Winston-Salem made six straight playoff appearances and earned a national runner-up finish in 2012.

1. Valdosta State Blazers (88-27)
Valdosta State was the team of the decade. The Blazers had winning seasons in each year, made the playoffs seven times, had a national semifinal appearance and earned two national championships – 2012 and 2018 – with an undefeated season in the latter.

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INDIANAPOLIS – For the upcoming 2020-21 season, the first practice date for all Division III fall sports will be Aug. 10 or the first day of class, whichever is earlier.

The Division III Administrative Committee approved lengthening preseasons for fall sports during a videoconference Wednesday, in response to recommendations from the Management Council’s Playing and Practice Seasons Subcommittee. There also will be an unlimited number of administrative days for schools to conduct nonathletics-related activities, or days on which schools can provide housing and meal expenses to student-athletes before the start of practice.

“The NCAA continues to keep the health of students as a top priority,” said Tori Murden McClure, chair of the committee and the Division III Presidents Council, and Spalding president. “Colleges and universities across the nation need guidelines that will allow students to return to play in a manner that preserves fundamental fairness as much as possible.”

The Administrative Committee concluded that this change gives schools the flexibility to conduct preseasons while putting the health and safety of student-athletes first.

Before this change, the permissible start date was based on a team’s first contest date. Given the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, schools are unsure when that first contest date is going to be. Additionally, the NCAA’s Sport Science Institute put out guidelines on how to resume college sports and return student-athletes and staff to campus. The Core Principles of Resocialization of Collegiate Sport recommends a phased approach, and this move allows greater time for that to be implemented.

The Administrative Committee is the governing body in Division III that is empowered to act between the quarterly meetings of the Management and Presidents Councils. The committee has five members, including the chair and vice chair of the Presidents and Management Councils, as well as the senior president serving on the Management Council.

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INDIANAPOLIS – The minimum number of contests required for sports sponsorship and championship selection in Division III have been reduced by 33 percent in all sports for the 2020-21 academic year.

The Division III Administrative Committee approved the reductions during a videoconference Thursday in response to recommendations from the Division III Membership and Championships Committees. The minimum number of required participants will stay the same.

“We hope that a reduction in contest minimums will provide flexibility to our member schools as they work to reopen during what is a very uncertain and complex time. We understand this won’t fix everything for everyone, but we believe it is the right move at this time and we will remain flexible moving forward,” said Tori Murden McClure, chair of the committee and Spalding president.

The Administrative Committee concluded that reducing the minimum number of contests required for sports sponsorship and championship selection will help institutions remain in compliance, provide much-needed guidance as institutions map out what competition schedules will look like and will reduce the administrative burden associated with seeking relief in the form of waivers as institutions continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a recent survey of the Division III membership by the Division III Commissioners Association, 85 percent of participants supported a reduction of contest minimums. This reduction also will provide institutions with flexibility to design a competition schedule that fits into revised academic calendars that will likely come as a result of the pandemic.

The committee noted that both the Membership and Championships Committees are committed to flexibility in making decisions in this rapidly changing climate. The intention right now is to conduct fall championships as scheduled.

The Administrative Committee is the governing body in Division III that is empowered to act between the quarterly meetings of the Management and Presidents Councils. The committee has five members, including the chair of the Presidents Council, the vice chair of the Presidents Council and the chair of the Management Council.

Here are the revised sport-by-sport contest minimums for the 2020-21 academic year:

• Men’s cross country: 3.
• Women’s cross country: 3.
• Field hockey: 8.
• Football: 5.
• Men’s soccer: 9.
• Women’s soccer: 9.
• Women’s volleyball: 11.
• Men’s basketball: 12.
• Women’s basketball: 12.
• Men’s ice hockey: 12.
• Women’s ice hockey: 12.
• Men’s swimming and diving: 5.
• Women’s swimming and diving: 5.
• Men’s indoor track and field: 3.
• Women’s indoor track and field: 3.
• Wrestling: 5.
• Baseball: 17.
• Men’s golf: 4.
• Women’s golf: 4.
• Men’s lacrosse: 7.
• Women’s lacrosse: 7.
• Rowing: 5.
• Softball: 16.
• Men’s tennis: 7.
• Women’s tennis: 7.
• Men’s outdoor track and field: 4.
• Women’s outdoor track and field: 4.
• Men’s volleyball: 11.

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INDIANAPOLIS – On, Thursday, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships.

This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities.

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