NEW ORLEANS, La. – Auburn linebacker Ashton Richardson was recognized Friday evening as the winner of the 2012 Bobby Bowden Award, presented by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision player who best epitomizes a student-athlete.
The award is named for former Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden, and conceived by former Bowden assistant coach Vince Gibson, who died in 2012 from Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Vernon Brinson, who played for Coach Bowden at South Georgia College in the 1950s. The award is sponsored by Jon Khachaturian, owner of Versabar, “The Power of Engineering Delivered.”
“It’s definitely humbling to receive this award, especially since it is named for a man like Coach Bobby Bowden,” Richardson said. “Our campus and community pastors have been great mentors to me during my time at Auburn, and the Auburn family has always been supportive of me in my faith journey, as well as in academics and athletics. This is a tremendous honor.”
Richardson, a four-year letterman at Auburn, graduated in December with a 3.95 GPA in animal science, and plans to attend veterinary school. A Rhodes Scholar finalist, Richardson was a three-time member of the all-SEC academic honor roll and a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation’s William Campbell Trophy. He has volunteered each week for the past four years as a mentor at the Lee County Youth Development Center. The New Orleans, La., product was a part of the 2010 national championship, 2010 SEC championship, and 2009 Outback, 2010 BCS and 2011 Chick-fil-A champion bowl teams.
The award was presented by Coach Bowden at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes reception at the BCS national championship site in Miami on Friday evening. University of Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley and Ohio State University defensive end John Simon were the other two 2012 finalists from among 19 semifinalists.
In order to be nominated for the Bobby Bowden Award, a player must conduct himself as a faith role model in the classroom, on the field, on the campus and in the community. Nominees must have at least a 3.0 grade point average and have the backing of their school’s athletics director and head football coach.
A list of all Bobby Bowden Award winners:
Year Winner Institution
2003 Jason Wright Northwestern
2004 Billy Bajema Oklahoma State
2005 D. J. Shockley Georgia
2006 Carl Pendleton Oklahoma
2007 Jacob Tamme Kentucky
2008 Stephen McGee Texas A&M
2009 Colt McCoy Texas
2010 Christian Ponder Florida State
2011 Case Keenum Houston
2012 Ashton Richardson Auburn
About FCA
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is touching millions of lives…one heart at a time. Since 1954, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been challenging coaches and athletes on the professional, college, high school, junior high and youth levels to use the powerful medium of athletics to impact the world for Jesus Christ. FCA is the largest Christian sports organization in the world. FCA focuses on serving local communities by equipping, empowering and encouraging people to make a difference for Christ.
- FCA.org -
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