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Princeton University Athletics
Weiss, Kirby Receive National Academic Honor
September 26, 2000 | Football
Sept. 26, 2000
Princeton freshmen football players Tim Kirby and Joe Weiss were named two of the four winners of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's National High School Scholar-Athlete Award, the foundation announced today.
The award recognizes four student-athletes from around the country who "exemplify the term scholar-athlete, successfully combining the right mix of academics, athletics, and citizenship during their high school careers."
Kirby and Weiss were joined by Jeremy Caudill, from Prestonburg High in Kentucky, and Wesley McConnell of Ruston High in Louisiana. Caudill is a freshman at the University of Kentucky, while McConnell is a freshman at Louisiana State.
"We're very excited to have two of the four winners from across the country," Princeton head coach Roger Hughes said. "It speaks to the quality of the student-athletes that Princeton attracts, and we're thrilled to have them in our program." Both Kirby and Weiss are defensive linemen for the Tigers, and both have played extensively in the first two games of their freshman season.
"To be selected as one of only four scholar-athletes in the entire nation is quite a tribute to these young men," said NFF chairman Jon Hanson. "Each year, we are amazed by the achievements of the honorees, and this year's group is particularly extraordinary."
Kirby graduated from Junipero Serra High in San Mateo, Calif., with a 4.0 grade-point average and No.1 class rank. As a linebacker/offensive guard, he was named all-league, all-county, all-region and All-San Francisco Bay Area and was chosen Offensive Lineman of the Year in the Bay Area.
He was also active in student government, having served as vice president of his freshman class, president of his sophomore and junior classes and student body president senior year. He received the Harvard Book Award and Xerox Award for Humanities and was a member of the San Mateo Youth Council. He has also been recognized as a Life Scout.
Weiss is a native of Linwood, N.J, and a graduate of Mainland High, where his 4.0 GPA ranked fourth in a class of 285. He was a National Honor Society member, a 2000 Academic All-Star and a scholar-athlete in wrestling for three years and football for two.
He won 10 varsity letters at Mainland. As a linebacker, he was a three-time all-conference selection and an all-state pick as a senior. The Philadelphia Inquirer named his its South Jersey Defensive Player of the Year, and the Atlantic City Press named him its Male Athlete of the Year. He was chosen to play in the Governors' Bowl, an all-star game pitting the 50 best players from New York against the 50 best players from New Jersey.
In addition, Weiss was also a student council volunteer, a volunteer for the Junior Football League, a speaker at local schools regarding safety and a participant in Mainland's 2000 Think Day. He was voted Most Versatile by his classmates.
Ceremonies to honor the scholar-athletes will take place at the National Football Foundation's Annual Awards Luncheon, Dec. 12, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The four scholar-athletes join an impressive list of past honorees, which includes Drew Henson, multi-sport athlete and quarterback at the University of Michigan, Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton and Bobby Hoying, quarterback for the Oakland Raiders.