BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Fordham graduate student linebacker James Conway claimed the 2025 Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a member of the 14-member Academic All-Patriot League Team
Conway (marketing information, 3.71 GPA) and Bucknell senior offensive lineman John Ohnegian (economics, 3.93 GPA), the 2024 football scholar-athlete of the year, are the 17th and 18th Patriot League football student-athletes to receive Academic All-League honors three times. Conway is the fifth Ram to win Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining former teammate and current Fordham coach Ryan Greenhagen, who claimed the honor in 2022.
To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and the Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and be a starter or key player in their sport. Freshmen or students in their first academic year at their school are not eligible for the honor.
These honors recognize student-athletes who excel in their sport and the classroom. The awards are voted on by Patriot League football sports information directors, who are not eligible to vote for their student-athletes.
2025 Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year
James Conway, Fordham, Gr., LB, Omaha, Neb./Millard West
2025 Stats: 12 GP, 159 total tackles, 72 solo, 8.0 TFLs for 27 yards, 5.0 sacks, 1 INT, 3 pass breakups, 1 FF
*He graduated magna cum laude with a 3.71 GPA with a bachelor’s degree in marketing information systems. The William V. Campbell Trophy finalist will finish his master’s degree in artificial intelligence in December.
*Conway became the second football student-athlete in League history to earn All-League honors five times after leading the FCS in total tackles (13.3 tpg) and being selected a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, for the FCS Defensive Player of the Year.
*The Omaha, Neb. native broke the 21-year-old FCS career tackles record with a 16-tackle performance against Lehigh on Nov. 25 before setting the NCAA DI record, finishing with 595 career tackles.
*Conway, who is a Doris Robinson Award finalist for FCS Scholar-Athlete of the Year, has volunteered for Part of the Solution (POTS), a local soup kitchen that is also a leading provider of emergency food, social services, and legal representation in the Bronx, helping to organize and serve meals to the less fortunate in the community that surrounds Fordham.
Georgetown’s Rufo Joins Ohnegian and Conway as Multi-Year Academic All-League Selections
Bucknell’s Ohnegian and Fordham’s Conway earned Academic All-League honors for the third time in 2025, while Georgetown junior linebacker GianCarlo Rufo (finance, 3.56 GPA) received academic squad recognition for the second time in his career.
Ten All-Patriot League Honorees Capture Academic All-League Accolades
Conway and Ohnegian are among the 10 Academic All-League selections to have earned All-League recognition. Bucknell junior wide receiver Sam Milligan (business analytics, 3.66 GPA), Colgate senior wide receiver Treyvhon Saunders (economics, 3.36 GPA), Holy Cross senior offensive lineman Cam Nolan (political science, 3.32 GPA) and Georgetown senior wide receiver Jimmy Kibble (finance and marketing, 3.60 GPA) all earned spots on the All-Patriot League First-Team.
Georgetown’s Rufo, Lehigh senior linebacker Brycen Edwards (accounting and finance, 3.34 GPA) and Richmond senior linebacker Carter Glassmyer (business administration, 3.64 GPA) and senior offensive lineman Scott Hummel (health studies, 3.61 GPA) were all second-team selections.
Eleven Student-Athletes Claim Academic All-League Honors for the First Time
Eleven of the 14 Academic All-Patriot League selections received academic honors for the first time. Bucknell junior wide receiver TJ Cadden (finance, 3.89 GPA) and Milligan, Colgate senior defensive lineman Danny Norocea (political science, 3.49 GPA) and Saunders, Georgetown’s Kibble, Holy Cross sophomore punter Ethan Moss (economics, 3.92 GPA) and Nolan, Lafayette’s Peiffer, Lehigh’s Edwards and Richmond’s Glassmyer and Hummel are first-time academic squad selections.
Eight Academic All-League Selections were among Campbell Trophy Semifinalists
Eight members of the Academic All-Patriot League squad had been selected as semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, regarded as the “Academic Heisman”, and presented to college football’s top scholar-athlete. Conway, Edwards, Hummel, Ohnegian, Kibble, Nolan, Saunders and Lafayette senior defensive lineman Phillip Peiffer (international affairs and Spanish, economics minor, 3.94 GPA) were selected to the list. Conway was named one of 16 finalists for the Campbell Trophy and is one of two finalists from the FCS.
2025 Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year – James Conway, Fordham, Gr., LB
2025 Academic All-Patriot League Football Team
TJ Cadden, Bucknell, Jr., WR
Sam Milligan, Bucknell, Jr., WR
John Ohnegian, Bucknell, Sr., OL
Danny Norocea, Colgate, Sr., DL
Treyvhon Saunders, Colgate, Sr., WR
James Conway, Fordham, Gr., LB
Jimmy Kibble, Georgetown, Sr., WR
GianCarlo Rufo, Georgetown, Jr., LB
Ethan Moss, Holy Cross, So., P
Cam Nolan, Holy Cross, Sr., OL
Phillip Peiffer, Lafayette, Sr., DL
Brycen Edwards, Lehigh, Sr., LB
Carter Glassmyer, Richmond, Sr., LB
Scott Hummel, Richmond, Sr., OL
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.