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NCSU's Rivers Among 5 Finalists For Walter Camp Award

Dec 3, 2003

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — North Carolina State University quarterback Philip Rivers, who recently had his No. 17 jersey retired by the school, is one of five finalists for the Walter Camp Foundation's 2003 player-of-the-year award.

The award is the fourth-oldest individual college football accolade in the nation. The finalists were announced Wednesday.

The winner, who is voted on by the 117 Div. I-A head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced live on Thursday, Dec. 11, during the 6 p.m. edition of ESPN's SportsCenter. The trophy will be awarded at the Camp Foundation's annual national awards banquet on Feb. 14, 2004, at the Yale University Commons in New Haven.

The 6-5, 236-pound Rivers is the 2003 Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year. He completed 311 of 438 passes and set ACC records for completion percentage (71) and yards (4,016).

Rivers threw 29 touchdown passes, compared to just seven interceptions, and he had four 400-yard passing games for the 7-5 Wolfpack.

Walter Camp, a former Yale athlete whom some consider the "Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. The Walter Camp Football Foundation -- a New Haven-based all-volunteer group -- was founded in 1967 to perpetuate Camp's ideals and to continue the tradition of annually selecting the All-America team.

The other finalists for the player-of-the-year award, are:

Larry Fitzgerald, a sophomore wide receiver at the Unversity of Pittsburgh who leads the NCAA in touchdown receptions, receiving yards and receiving yards per game,

Eli Manning, a senior quarterback at the University of Mississippi, who needs just 60 yards to break his own single-season passing record,

Chris Perry, a senior running back at the University of Michigan, the Big Ten offensive player of the year, who led the conference in rushing,

Jason White, a senior quarterback at the University of Oklahoma, who threw a single-season school-record 40 touchdown passes for the undefeated and No. 1-ranked team.