UWA's Pack Among Finalists for Harlon Hill Trophy

FLORENCE, Ala. – The University of West Alabama’s Garry Pack is among the 24 candidates in the running for the 2008 Harlon Hill Trophy as the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year, including three finalists from 2007 and three others players who were candidates last season.

The list of candidates was announced Thursday by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee.

Pack, a Hattiesburg, Miss.-native, is ranked 10^th in the nation in tackles, while leading the Gulf South Conference with 109 tackles. The senior linebacker is ranked in the top five on the team in six defensive categories and also has two touchdowns to his credit this season.

The list includes six players from each of the Division II’s four Super Regionals.

Players are nominated and voted on by the sports information directors at the 154 NCAA Division II football-playing institutions. The 24 initial candidates will be placed on regional ballots and the top two players from each of the four NCAA regions will advance to the national ballot when regional voting concludes on November 14.

The winner of the 2008 award, which is presented by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee, will be announced at the 23rd annual Harlon Hill Trophy Presentation Banquet on Friday, December 12 at the Florence Conference Center at 6:30 p.m. This year’s Hill Trophy Banquet will also include the tenth induction into the Division II Football Hall of Fame.

Tickets are $50 each or $400 for a table of eight and can be purchased by calling the Shoals Chamber of Commerce at (256) 764- 4661.

The NCAA Division II Championship Game is scheduled for December 13 at Florence’s Braly Municipal Stadium at noon.

The Hill Trophy is sponsored by the City of Florence, Ala., Florence-Lauderdale Tourism, Opti-Net, the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa and Herff Jones.

There were 32 candidates initially nominated by the sports information directors at their respective schools and those nominations were then reviewed by the Hill Regional Advisory Committees, which trimmed the list of candidates.

The remaining group of 24 candidates includes 13 quarterbacks, five running backs, three receivers, a defensive tackle, a linebacker and a cornerback. There are 17 seniors, six juniors and one sophomore.