IRVING, TX (April 9, 2026) -- The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today the members of the 2026 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, marking the 20th anniversary of the program, which recognizes college football players from all divisions of the NCAA, NAIA and sprint football who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. Representing the King's College football team in this year's class are Patrick Cooney and Zach Hulsizer.

The 2026 class features a record 2,596 players from 365 schools, making it the largest class in the program's 20-year history. Since its inception, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society has recognized 23,568 student-athletes from 691 schools nationwide. This year's members again represent all levels of college football across six divisions. The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's National Scholar-Athlete program by greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization's leadership role in encouraging academic performance by student-athletes at colleges and universities with football programs nationwide.

"Twenty years ago, college coaches around the country came to the National Football Foundation asking us to recognize not just their top student-athlete, but the numerous student-athletes on their teams who were also excelling at the highest levels in the classroom," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Their voices led to the creation of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, and two decades later, the results speak for themselves. Year after year, we continue to see remarkable academic achievements across college football."

Hulsizer and Cooney continue King's strong tradition of academic excellence, joining a distinguished group of 37 Monarchs previously inducted into the Hampshire Honor Society. King's has now placed at least one student-athlete on the Hampshire Honor Society list in each of the last 12 active seasons.
The Monarchs' NFF Hampshire Honor Society inductees can be found below:

National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society:
2011 – Jordan Haddock
2012 – Ryan Cordingly
2014 – Tyler Hartranft, Kris Matthew, Dan Kempa
2015 – Tom Hehre, Chris Boyle
2016 – Mike Palmer
2017 – Chris DeGaetano, Corey Flynn, Jacoby Foresman, Jake Manetti, Jon Rauch
2018 – CJ Curry, Ben Bakanas, Will Cameron
2019 – Joe Damiano, Gene Gibbons, Peter Swartz
2021 – Gabe Boccella, Tekoah Guedes
2022 – Joe Herman, Mike Karycinski, Kyle Prescavage
2023 – Alyssa Accordino, Nate McGlone
2024 – Liam Carroll, Mike DiGregorio, Ahmad Griffin, Justin Kane, Sean Lavine, Ryan McCombs, Joachim McElroy, Jared Reto, Jake Ruppert, EJ Schreiner, Alex Tristan
2025 – Patrick Cooney, Zach Hulsizer,

Nominated by their respective schools, members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must meet one of the following criteria:

• Be a senior player graduating this spring/summer who completed the final year of playing eligibility in the 2025 season; or
• Be a graduated player or grad transfer who has already earned a bachelor's degree and competed in the 2025 season (even if the player has remaining eligibility and may return to play next season).

And must have:

• Attained a minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.2 (4.0 scale); and
• Been starters or contributors throughout the 2025 season.

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ABOUT THE HAMPSHIRE FOUNDATION
The Hampshire Foundation is the charitable arm of The Hampshire Companies, a privately held, fully-integrated real estate firm that has more than 60 years of hands-on, cycle-tested experience in acquiring, developing, leasing, repositioning, managing, financing and disposing of real estate. Founded by Jon F. Hanson, who served as NFF Chairman from 1994–2006, Hampshire is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. Learn more at www.hampshirere.com.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship, and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters in 47 states, NFF programs include the criteria, selection and induction of members of the NFF College Football Hall of Fame; the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame museum in Atlanta; Future For Football; I Played; the William V. Campbell Trophy®; the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Awards presented by the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation; the Hatchell Cup presented by Bob's Steak & Chop House; and a series of programs and initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Bruin Capital, CAA Executive Search, Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Hampshire Companies, Jostens, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, New York Athletic Club, Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, SideQuests and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.