Temple University Athletics
Football’s Hennessy, Mesday Earn Hampshire Honor Society Membership
4.15.20 | Football
Irving, Texas - The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today the members of the 2020 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. An impressive 1,432 players from 364 schools qualified for membership in the Society's 14th year. Temple's Matt Hennessy and Zack Mesday are two of those new members.
"We are pleased to honor another impressive group of athletes as part of this year's Hampshire Honor Society," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "For more than a decade, the Hampshire Honor Society has served as a powerful vehicle for schools to recognize their college football players who have distinguished themselves both academically and athletically, and we congratulate the schools and each of these young men for their commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives."
Hennessy completed his finance degree at Temple with a 3.66 GPA. He was named the American Athletic Conference Male Student-Athlete of the Year in 2019. The Bardonia, N.Y., native finished his four year career at Temple playing in 38 games and earning national recognition for his performance in his redshirt junior season in 2019. He was the captain of an experienced offensive line and was awarded an honorary single digit in 2018. Hennessy was graded by Pro Football Focus as a top three center in the country his final season and was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy. He was the only Group of Five center ever to be named a finalist for the award in this decade. Hennessy earned multiple All-America honors and first team all-conference honors before foregoing his final season in order to pursue the NFL.
Mesday had a unique college football career with the fact that he was on the team for six seasons. That afforded the Bordentown, N.J., native the time to complete his master's degree in education holding a 3.37 GPA. Mesday endured back-to-back injuries in 2015 and 2016, which allowed him to get the extra year of eligibility when he was healthy. Mesday was granted a sixth year of eligibility and a full scholarship toward the end of the 2018 season, and made the most of his final season on the field in 2019. Mesday switched from LB to DE in 2017 but became a consistent presence on the defensive line in 2018. Mesday played in 32 career games for the Owls and got his first start at defensive end in the opening game in 2019. In two full seasons at defensive end, he accumulated 58 tackles, 14.5 TFLs, 8.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.
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 the student-athletes at the 775 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide. The initiative has now honored 12,127 student-athletes since its inception.
Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided the 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. "We have honored more than 12,000 student-athletes in the last 14 years thanks to Jon Hanson's generosity," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "We are grateful for his passionate belief in the scholar-athlete ideal, and the Hampshire Honor Society allows us to showcase the names of tomorrow's leaders while inspiring future generations to follow in their footsteps."
Nominated by their respective schools, members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must have:
"We are pleased to honor another impressive group of athletes as part of this year's Hampshire Honor Society," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "For more than a decade, the Hampshire Honor Society has served as a powerful vehicle for schools to recognize their college football players who have distinguished themselves both academically and athletically, and we congratulate the schools and each of these young men for their commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives."
Hennessy completed his finance degree at Temple with a 3.66 GPA. He was named the American Athletic Conference Male Student-Athlete of the Year in 2019. The Bardonia, N.Y., native finished his four year career at Temple playing in 38 games and earning national recognition for his performance in his redshirt junior season in 2019. He was the captain of an experienced offensive line and was awarded an honorary single digit in 2018. Hennessy was graded by Pro Football Focus as a top three center in the country his final season and was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy. He was the only Group of Five center ever to be named a finalist for the award in this decade. Hennessy earned multiple All-America honors and first team all-conference honors before foregoing his final season in order to pursue the NFL.
Mesday had a unique college football career with the fact that he was on the team for six seasons. That afforded the Bordentown, N.J., native the time to complete his master's degree in education holding a 3.37 GPA. Mesday endured back-to-back injuries in 2015 and 2016, which allowed him to get the extra year of eligibility when he was healthy. Mesday was granted a sixth year of eligibility and a full scholarship toward the end of the 2018 season, and made the most of his final season on the field in 2019. Mesday switched from LB to DE in 2017 but became a consistent presence on the defensive line in 2018. Mesday played in 32 career games for the Owls and got his first start at defensive end in the opening game in 2019. In two full seasons at defensive end, he accumulated 58 tackles, 14.5 TFLs, 8.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.
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 the student-athletes at the 775 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide. The initiative has now honored 12,127 student-athletes since its inception.
Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided the 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. "We have honored more than 12,000 student-athletes in the last 14 years thanks to Jon Hanson's generosity," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "We are grateful for his passionate belief in the scholar-athlete ideal, and the Hampshire Honor Society allows us to showcase the names of tomorrow's leaders while inspiring future generations to follow in their footsteps."
Nominated by their respective schools, members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must have:
- Completed their final year of playing eligibility in 2019;
- Graduated players, who have remaining eligibility but will not return to collegiate play (e.g. declared for NFL Draft or retired from football), may also be nominated.
- Achieved a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study;
- Met all NCAA- or NAIA-mandated progress toward degree requirements; and
- Been starters or significant contributors throughout the 2019 season.
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