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Bill Knight Trophy
Teams	UMass Minutemen UMass Minutemen football The UMass Minutemen football team is a collegiate football team that has finished its last season in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision and the Colonial Athletic Association in 2011. UMass began play in 1879 and have since appeared in three National Championship games, winning the title in... New Hampshire Wildcats New Hampshire Wildcats The New Hampshire Wildcats, or Cats, are the athletic teams of the University of New Hampshire. The wildcat is the school's official mascot, the colors are UNH Blue and white...
Originated	rivalry 1897, trophy 1986
Rivalry Series	UMass leads, 43-27-3
Current Holder	Matt Evans, UNH

The Bill Knight Trophy is an annual trophy given to the Most Outstanding Player of the Colonial Clash

Colonial Clash

The Colonial Clash is an annual college football rivalry game played between UMass and New Hampshire. The MVP of the game is awarded the Bill Knight Trophy.-History:...

, a college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 rivalry game played between the University of Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts

This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...

 and the University of New Hampshire

University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...

. A new trophy is cast each year, therefore allowing the honoree to keep his award permanently.

History

The award is named after the long-time Sports Information Director at New Hampshire. Knight died in November of 1985. In addition to his duties at UNH, Knight was a past President of the New England Sports Information Directors Association, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee at the 1984 Winter Games and a recipient of the Irving T. Marsh ECAC Service Bureau Award. He also served as the Information Officer of the Yankee Conference. Knight was inducted into the University of New Hampshire 100 Club Hall of Fame on October 2, 1987. The trophy was first awarded to Tim Bryant of UMass in 1986, and has been given every year since to the player who gives the best performance in the annual contest.

Past Winners

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Year	Winner	Position	Team	Result	Location
1986	Tim Bryant	QB Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...	UMass	UMass, 38-31	Amherst, MA
1987	Bob Jean	QB	UNH	UNH, 17-10	Durham, NH
1988	Dave Palazzi	QB	UMass	UMass, 64-42	Durham, NH
1989	Gary Wilkos	QB	UMass	UMass, 34-28	Amherst, MA
1990	Matt Griffin	QB	UNH	UNH, 36-18	Durham, NH
1991	Matt Griffin	QB	UNH	UNH, 35-28	Amherst, MA
1992	Jim Stayer	QB	UNH	UNH, 20-13	Durham, NH
1993	John Johnson	FB Fullback (American football) A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...	UMass	UMass, 15-13	Amherst, MA
1994	Mike Foley	DE Defensive end Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...	UNH	UNH, 14-11	Durham, NH
1995	Jerry Azumah Jerry Azumah Jerry Azumah is a former professional American football cornerback for the Chicago Bears.Azumah was selected as the 147th pick of the 1999 NFL Draft out of the University of New Hampshire where he won the Walter Payton Award as the best offensive player in Division I-AA football. He attended Saint...	TB Tailback Tailback can mean:* Halfback * A line of motor vehicles caught up in traffic congestion; a traffic jam...	UNH	UNH, 32-29	Amherst, MA
1996	Jerry Azumah	TB	UNH	UNH, 40-7	Durham, NH
1997	Jerry Azumah	TB	UNH	UNH, 28-10	Amherst, MA
1998	Marcel Shipp Marcel Shipp Marcel Cornelius Shipp is an American football running back for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. He played in the NFL from 2001-2008 for the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2001, and played with them...	TB	UMass	UMass, 27-26	Durham, NH
1999	Adrian Zullo	WR Wide receiver A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...	UMass	UMass, 34-19	Amherst, MA
2000	Stephan Lewis	TB	UNH	UNH, 24-16	Durham, NH
2001	Stephan Lewis	TB	UNH	UNH, 35-24	Amherst, MA
2002	Stephan Lewis	TB	UNH	UNH, 31-14	Durham, NH
2003	Jason Peebler	WR	UMass	UMass, 44-30	Amherst, MA
2004	Steve Baylark Steve Baylark Steve Ray Baylark is an American football running back for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2007...	TB	UMass	UMass, 38-21	Durham, NH
2005	David Ball David Ball (wide receiver) David Ball is a professional wide receiver for the Erie Explosion of the Ultimate Indoor Football League. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2007...	WR	UNH	UNH, 34-28	Amherst, MA
2006	Jason Hatchell	DE	UMass	UMass, 28-20	Durham, NH
2007	Matt Lawrence Matt Lawrence Matthew Nashid Lawrence is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks...	TB	UMass	UMass, 27-7	Amherst, MA
2008	Matt Parent	LB Linebacker A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...	UNH	UNH, 52-21	Durham, NH
2009	Jon Hernandez	TB	UMass	UMass, 23-17	Amherst, MA
2010	Matt Evans	LB	UNH	UNH, 39-13	Foxboro, MA

See also

• Colonial Clash
  Colonial Clash
  The Colonial Clash is an annual college football rivalry game played between UMass and New Hampshire. The MVP of the game is awarded the Bill Knight Trophy.-History:...
  
  
• UMass Minutemen football
  UMass Minutemen football
  The UMass Minutemen football team is a collegiate football team that has finished its last season in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision and the Colonial Athletic Association in 2011. UMass began play in 1879 and have since appeared in three National Championship games, winning the title in...
  
  
• New Hampshire Wildcats
  New Hampshire Wildcats
  The New Hampshire Wildcats, or Cats, are the athletic teams of the University of New Hampshire. The wildcat is the school's official mascot, the colors are UNH Blue and white...
  
  
• Rivalry Games