July 21, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The All-Big Ten duo of Sam Ficken and Mike Hull each added another honor to their resumes when the National Football Foundation announced the 2015 Hampshire Honor Society membership.
In order to be considered for membership in the Hampshire Honor Society, a player must be a starter or significant reserve who maintains a cumulative 3.20 grade point average or higher in their last year of eligibility at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, or an NAIA college or university. Ficken and Hull were key contributors in the Nittany Lions New Era Pinstripe Bowl victory over Boston College and were cornerstones of the 2014 senior class. Both student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten, with Hull earning his fourth nod and Ficken earning his third accolade.
Hull earned eight All-America recognitions last fall, including FWAA, Sporting News and USA Today second team honors and Associated Press third team accolades. The 2014 Big Ten Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year has signed a rookie free agent contract with the Miami Dolphins. Hull led the conference with 140 tackles (9th in FBS) and had 10.5 TFL (minus 28), 2.0 sacks, one interception, a forced fumble, one fumble recovery and three pass break-ups. He was selected first team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media, as well as BTN.com and ESPN.com.
The Canonsburg, Pennsylvania native led the Nittany Lions in tackles 11 times during his senior season, including eight double-digit performances, and three games with nine stops. Hull made at least nine stops in 17 of his last 21 games, which included 20 straight starts to cap his career.
The Nittany Lions' team MVP, Hull ranks sixth on Penn State's career tackles list with 294 and also tied for fourth on the Penn State season tackles list with 140. He had 12 career double-digit tackle performances in his career. He earned his degree in finance in four years and began work on another degree during the 2014 season.
Ficken was named second-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media after breaking the Penn State season record with 24 made field goals in 2014. He also was named to the Associated Press and SI.com All-Bowl Teams after connecting on a 45-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl to tie the game, 24-24, and then sparked the celebration as he converted his fourth extra point of the night to give Penn State the 31-30 victory.
Ficken's 54 career field goals are No 2 in school history and he is fourth on the career scoring list with 264 points. His field goal percentage of .828 (24-of-29) tops single season charts at PSU, topping Matt Bahr's .815 (22-of-27) mark from 1978. The former Valparaiso High School standout was selected Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week four times in his career. A co-captain, Ficken completed his degree in finance in 2015.
The Nittany Lions open the 2015 campaign on the road against Temple at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 5 at 3:30 p.m. Season, partial season and single game tickets for the 2015 campaign are on sale, with more than 4,000 new season tickets having been sold. To purchase tickets or for information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2015 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.