Posted: Apr 14, 2020

Ferris State Football's Travis Russell Tabbed National Semifinalist For 2020 Wooden Citizenship Cup

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University football's Travis Russell (Grand Rapids/West Catholic), who wrapped up his collegiate career by leading FSU to the NCAA Division II National Semifinals last fall, was recently chosen as a national semifinalist for the 2020 Wooden Citizenship Cup presented to the top athletic role models in the country.

Russell was named among 25 national semifinalists for the prestigious honor. Previously, Russell was also chosen as the recipient of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (GLIAC) Jack H. McAvoy Award, which is presented annually to a GLIAC football player who best combines outstanding character and leadership on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

Founded by Athletes for a Better World (ABW), a non-profit organization committed to changing the culture of American sports, the Wooden Cup is unique in that it is open to athletes in all high school, collegiate, Olympic and professional sports. Annual nominations are open to every division and conference in college sports, and to athletes in public and private high schools across the country in partnership with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.

The 16th Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup, an award given for the most outstanding role model among athletes, announced its nominees for the 2020 award ceremony.

John Wooden, who won 10 national championships during the years 1964-1975 as basketball coach at UCLA is regarded as the greatest college coach of any sport who ever lived. He is universally regarded as one of the finest human beings to ever grace the world of sports, and his character, conduct and selfless gifts stand at the highest level by any standard. When Coach Wooden learned about Athletes for a Better World, he gave authorization to attach his name to this annual award and he attended and addressed the inaugural event in Los Angeles in 2005. In his honor, the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup is presented to four distinguished athletes, one collegiate, one professional or Olympic, and a male and female from the high school ranks, for their character and leadership both on and off the field.

Russell led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Division II National Semifinals for the third time in four years this past fall. He returned for his senior campaign after graduating last spring and became the Bulldogs' starting QB during their postseason run.

The senior standout compiled a 13-2 mark as a starter for FSU in his career and helped FSU to a 62-8 record in his five seasons in the program. The four-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honoree was the NCAA's Elite 90 Award recipient for holding the highest grade point average in the 2018 national championship game and was highly-involved in various community service initiatives and organizations in his collegiate career, including taking part in two different spring break mission trips to South Carolina to serve people whose homes had been destroyed due to hurricanes. He was a two-time nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team and was a GLIAC Commissioner's Award honoree for excellence both on and off the field.

This past fall, Russell was also a candidate for the 2019 Campbell Trophy awarded to the nation's top football scholar-athlete. He completed 86 of 160 passes for 1,503 yards and six scores while running for nearly 300 yards and three TD's in his senior campaign.

Off the field, he was also a member of the Newman Center catholic outreach group, active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and participated in "March Is Reading Month" at local elementary schools the past four years in addition to his other civic activities.

Russell's also assisted with "Angels In Action" serving children who are hungry and took part in two different spring break mission trips to South Carolina to serve people whose homes had been destroyed due to hurricanes in 2017 and 2018.

This past fall, along with reaching the national semifinals, FSU also claimed a second-straight GLIAC Championship with an unblemished league record. This past year marked the Bulldogs' fourth-straight trip to the national quarterfinals or beyond, which is the longest streak in the country. The national semifinal contest marked the first-ever semifinal played at home for the Bulldogs and the latest game ever played in a year at Top Taggart Field. Over the past two seasons, the Bulldogs have compiled a 27-2 mark.

Over the last six seasons at Ferris State, the Bulldogs have compiled a 72-9 overall record and claimed four conference championships, posted four unbeaten regular-seasons, captured three regional titles and reached the national quarterfinals four times. Ferris State has also accumulated three Harlon Hill National Player of the Year trophies, twice had a student-athlete tabbed as the nation's National Scholar-Athlete of the Year and won 12 postseason games in addition to an appearance in the 2018 National Championship game.

The Bulldogs are one of only four teams in all of college football at any NCAA level to win 11 games each of the last six years along with Alabama, Ohio State and North Dakota State. FSU is also the only D2 team in the country to reach the national quarterfinals for four consecutive years and the Bulldogs' six-straight playoff appearances is the second-longest longest streak in the nation.

Ferris State also holds the GLIAC's best mark and the best overall record of all 21 collegiate programs in Michigan at 87-16 overall since the arrival of Tony Annese as head coach in 2012.