WALTHAM, Mass. -- Six seniors on the 2010 Bentley University football team have been named to the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame's 2011 NFF Hampshire Honor Society.  The Society is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a 3.2 grade point average or better. A total of 671 players from 241 schools qualified for membership in the society's fifth year.

The Bentley players who were honored with this recognition were placekicker Paul Branco (Brockton/Brockton HS), center Jared Kawadler (Sharon/Xaverian Brothers HS), wide receiver John Malone (Walpole/Walpole HS), defensive end Bill Panora (Mashpee/Mashpee HS) and linebackers Greg O'Brien (Canton/Xaverian Brothers HS) and Mark Dolan (Barrington, R.I./Barrington HS).

Bentley's six honorees were the most by any Division II program and only 19 institutions from across college football had more players recognized.

"In just the fifth year of this initiative, it gives the NFF great pride to honor so many qualified and accomplished collegiate players as members of this year's Hampshire Honor Society," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "The number of players we are able to recognize has nearly doubled since the first year of the program, showing that you can play football at the highest level and still be a standout student."

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's current National Scholar-Athlete program, greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year and further strengthening the organization's leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes who play football at the more than 700 college and universities with football programs nationwide. Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided an endowment to launch the NFF Hampshire Honor Society in 2007. He made the contribution as part of his legacy to the organization after serving as NFF chairman from 1994-2006.

Each of the 671 players awarded with membership in this year's Honor Society will receive a certificate commemorating the achievement.

"We encourage every football-playing school in the country to get involved in this most important initiative," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, "Thanks to the generosity of Jon F. Hanson, we have honored nearly 3,000 of our nation's best and brightest college players over the past five years. This program truly shows the power of football in building tomorrow's leaders."

Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include: being a starter or a significant substitute in one's last year of eligibility at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, or an NAIA college or university; achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study; and meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements and graduation.