Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns Matthew Desormeaux and Grant Fleming were named members of the 2011 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, as announced by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

Desormeaux, a mathematics major, graduated in the spring 2010 with a 3.528 GPA prior to finishing his athletic career last fall. Fleming, who also completed his athletic career in the fall, is an accounting major currently with a 3.440 GPA. He is slated to graduate in the fall 2011.

The Hampshire Honor Society is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a 3.2 GPA or better. A total of 671 players from 241 schools qualified for membership in the society’s fifth year, showing a steady increase in membership each year since the inaugural class in 2007.

Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include:

1. Being a starter or a significant substitute in one’s last year of eligibility at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, or an NAIA college or university.
2. Achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study.
3. Meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements and graduation.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF’s current National Scholar-Athlete program, greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year and further strengthening the organization’s leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes who play football at the more than 700 college and universities with football programs nationwide. Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided an endowment to launch the NFF Hampshire Honor Society in 2007. He made the contribution as part of his legacy to the organization after serving as NFF chairman from 1994-2006. Each of the 671 players awarded with membership in this year’s Honor Society will receive a certificate commemorating the achievement.

Currently, the NFF distributes more than $300,000 a year at the national level through the program to 15 individuals. Each winner of a National Scholar-Athlete Award receives an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. Additionally, the William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, is given to one member of each year’s class as the absolute best. The winner of the Campbell receives a total scholarship of $25,000 and a 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy.

Former Ragin’ Cajuns that have been named to the NFF Hampshire Honor Society

2010 Chris Fisher 3.33 (Accounting)
Scott Hayes 3.80 (Accounting)
Phillip Nevels 3.82 (Anthropology)
2009 Michael Desormeaux 3.91 (General Studies)
2008 Lamar Morgan 3.34 (Management)

— Ragin’ Cajuns —