NEW YORK CITY – Tuesday night while Northwestern State senior linebacker Yaser Elqutub formally becomes one of 16 recipients of the 2011 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments, many classmates, teammates and supporters will gather in Natchitoches to watch the black-tie event live from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel's Grand Ballroom.
 
A “watch party' hosted by the Louisiana Scholars' College is open to the public Tuesday evening in rooms 227-230 of NSU's Morrison Hall to view the proceedings, beginning at 7 o'clock central. Head coaches at the dinner, including the Demons' Bradley Dale Peveto, will be introduced at 7:15 with the NFF National Scholar-Athletes introduced at 7:27. One of the 16 will be named winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy, which will be announced at 7:58 Tuesday evening.
 
A morning press conference, and the awards dinner, will be carried live on ESPN3 and streamed to the www.footballfoundation.org website.
 
In the press conference, the NFF Scholar-Athletes will be recognized at 9:45 a.m., preceded by this year's College Football Hall of Fame Bowl Subdivision Class including Deion Sanders and Eddie George at 8:15.

Elqutub, an applicant to attend medical school next year, has a 3.85 grade point average in scientific inquiry – liberal arts with a concentration in mathematics and science, with a minor in philosophy while attending the Louisiana Scholars' College at Northwestern. A former walk-on, he made 121 career tackles and started 22 consecutive games as a junior and senior while earning three letters..
 
“This is the cream of the crop in our sport,” said Demons' head coach Bradley Dale Peveto. “When it comes to the total package of being a scholar-athlete, Yaser is second to none.”
 
The honorees, from all levels of college football,  receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, formally presented at the 54^th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Dec. 6 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The Campbell Trophy winner receives a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship.
 
“This year's class is one of the best ever in the 53-year history of the program,” said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. “Their average GPA is a remarkable 3.81, setting a modern day record for the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. Without exception, they are some of the finest student-athletes to ever set foot on the gridiron, and they serve as a prime example of football's unique ability to build leaders.”
  
It's the second elite honor this season for Elqutub, who on Sept. 20 was named among 22 student-athletes from all levels of college football named to the 2011 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works team, recognizing remarkable community service and overall excellence. The captain of the Good Works Team will be announced Thursday on ESPN's College Football Awards Show from Orlando.
 
Being a Good Works Team member earns Elqutub a trip to the 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, where the Good Works Team will be introduced on the field in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
 
Elqutub is the only person in college football to earn both honors this year.
 
He is the third Demon to recieve an NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award. Two-time All-America center William Broussard won in 1999, went on to earn a doctoral degree and is director of athletics at Centenary College. Receiver Mark Johnson won in 1984.