Chapman Nine: Football seniors inducted into Hall

ORANGE, Calif. - A record nine Chapman University football seniors were inducted into the Orange County chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame for being outstanding college student-athletes. The group was honored at a dinner on Monday night in Anaheim.

Chapman seniors Tony Cresta, Garrett Earls, Matt Grager, Will Hopkins, Alex Leipf, Wes Pinkston, Justin Schulte, Chris Shynn and Jordan Spuck were honored for earning a minimum 3.1 grade-point average over four years in college and for being "socially acceptable" in society. All nine were present to receive scholarships from the foundation.

"As far as I can tell, no school has had this many players inducted in one year," said Panthers' assistant coach George Shafer, a member of the OC chapter of the National Football Foundation. "This is a tremendous honor for these players and Chapman should be very proud of their accomplishments."

The chapter's annual Scholar-Athlete awards banquet recognizes outstanding coaches, officials and community leaders who have contributed to the game. The presentation of scholarships is very important in reaching the goals of the foundation. Annually at the local level, the 120 chapters of The National Football Foundation honor over 3,000 amateur scholar-athletes and community leaders with scholarships and awards.