ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNER

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 11, 2009
CONTACT: JEFF HODGES - (256) 765-4595

JOIQUE BELL WINS 2009 HARLON HILL TROPHY AS DIVISION II FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR


FLORENCE, Ala.
-- Wayne State (Mich.) University senior running back Joique Bell claimed the Harlon Hill Trophy Friday as the 2009 Division II College Football Player of the Year. Bell received 138 total points and held a commanding 42-point margin in the voting. West Liberty (W.V.) University junior quarterback Zach Amedro finished second in the voting with 96 total points and Arkansas Tech University senior quarterback Nick Graziano was third with 59 points.

The award winner is determined in voting by the Division II sports information directors and was presented in front of a crowd of 400 at the 24th annual Harlon Hill Trophy award banquet at the Marriott Shoals Conference Center.

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

Bell, a senior from Benton Harbor, Mich., received 31 first-place votes in the balloting to 16 for Amedro.  With Bell's selection, it marks the fourth straight year that the Hill Trophy has gone to a running back, after a streak of seven straight wins by quarterbacks from 1999 to 2005. At the conclusion of the Division II regular season, Bell led all four NCAA divisions in rushing yards per game (189.45), scoring (17.5 points per game) and all-purpose yards (217.5 per game).

He is the 2009 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year as voted by the league's coaches. He is also a four-time first-team All-GLIAC selection and finished his career with 6,728 career rushing yards, sixth best in Division II history and eighth best in NCAA history for all divisions.

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National Harlon Hill Awards Committee
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