Penn State University center A.Q. Shipley is the winner of the 2008 Rimington Trophy, given annually to the nation’s most outstanding center in college football. The announcement was made during the ESPNU/HomeDepot College Football Awards Show in Orlando, Fla.

Shipley, who was a candidate for the Rimington Trophy in 2007, becomes the first Penn State recipient of the trophy. He will receive the trophy during the Ninth Annual Rimington Trophy banquet, which will be held on January 17, 2009 at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska.

“I’m ecstatic. It’s just an unbelievable honor. Great guys have won it in the past. Just to have my name mentioned among those guys is an unbelievable honor, Shipley said.

Since arriving at Penn State in 2004, Shipley began displaying his versatility and leadership on both sides of the ball, playing defensive end and guard during his freshman and sophomore seasons. The Coraopolis, Pa. native made the permanent switch to center in 2006 and has since started every game for the Nittany Lions.

At the conclusion of the 2008 season, Shipley and his offensive line were nationally ranked in sacks allowed (8th) and rushing offense (15th), while leading the Big Ten conference in scoring offense and total offense.

“A.Q. was an instrumental part of Penn State’s success this year. I am very proud to name him the winner of the 2008 Rimington Trophy. Congratulations to all the watch list candidates, finalists, and A.Q.,” Dave Rimington said.

Shipley and Penn State will match-up against USC in the 95th Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Ca. on January 1, 2009.


About the Rimington Trophy
The nine-year old trophy is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Esiason created his foundation in 1993 to support research and treatment of cystic fibrosis. Esiason and Dave Rimington were teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals from 1984-87. Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first team All- America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982 during which he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's premiere college interior lineman.

Past recipients include Dominic Raiola (Nebraska. 2000), LeCharles Bentley (Ohio State, 2001), Brett Romberg (Miami, 2002), Jake Grove (Virginia Tech, 2003), co- winners David Baas (Michigan, 2004) and Ben Wilkerson (LSU, 2004), Greg Eslinger (Minnesota, 2005), Dan Mozes (West Virginia, 2006), and Jonathan Luigs (2007). Since its inception the Rimington Trophy Award has raised over $1.5 million for its benefactor, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It, in turn, is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation which, to date, has raised nearly $72 million for Cystic Fibrosis research.

The Rimington Trophy is a fully accredited member of the National College Football Awards Association.



Contact:
Seth Gonzales
Boomer Esiason Foundation
[email protected]
646-292-7946