Love is one of 22 college football players overall and one of just 11 Football Bowl Subdivision players named to the prestigious team. This award shines a spotlight on the incredible stories of selflessness and community service displayed by these student-athletes and honorary head coach, and honors their dedication to volunteerism and enriching the lives of others.
Love, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, shows his selflessness by volunteering his time to help others. He leads the team in community service hours and has a passion for mentoring children, especially those living in a one-parent household or children who have parents who are incarcerated. His passion for helping others was derived from his own childhood experiences. At the age of eight, Love ran away from a not-so-healthy relationship with his mother, and as a teenager, was forced to deal with his father being incarcerated for two years. Because of his past, it was a perfect pairing when he found Amachi Central Kentucky. Amachi is a mentoring program that seeks to pair caring, positive adults with children and youth in the Bluegrass who have one or both parents in state or federal prison or are affected by incarceration in some way.
"Since Courtney began mentoring through Amachi, he has exhibited compassion, kindness, leadership, and love," Amachi specialist Destini Engle said. "Working with him is one of the greatest honors of my life. He has changed and will continue to change so many lives through his story and his mentorship. I cannot think of a more deserving individual for this award."
Love also has served in a Skype mentoring program with area high school students, and has taken part in many events with the UK Children's Hospital, Read Across America, and Special Olympics, along with many other service activities.
In May of 2016, Love was chosen to participate in a service/educational trip to Ethiopia where he helped build houses as well as shoe-shining boxes for men to be able to work and provide for their families. He also delivered food to impoverished families and visited with orphans and widows.
Love, who was named to the 2016 SEC Community Service Team, has also been nominated for several other national awards, including the Lott IMPACT Trophy, the Wuerffel Trophy and the Senior CLASS Award just to name a few.
"I'm so proud of Courtney," UK head coach Mark Stoops said. "He exemplifies everything you're looking for in a student-athlete. The fact he's being recognized on a national level doesn't surprise me because of the way he serves other people. "
In the classroom, Love was named to the 2016 SEC Academic Honor Roll, graduating in May with a degree in community and leadership development. He is currently working on a second degree in communications. He also serves as one of UK football's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representatives for the second straight season.
Love is the 14th player at UK, including the third under Stoops, to be named to the team in the award's 26-year history. UK ranks tied for second all-time with Nebraska in award winners behind Georgia (17).
