Bettridge Wins ACC’s Top Academic Honor

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia kicker Will Bettridge has been named the recipient of the 2025 Jim Tatum Award, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced today (Dec. 1). He is the ninth Cavalier ever and first since Jordan Mack in 2019 to win the prestigious award.

The award is given annually in memory of the late Jim Tatum to the top senior student-athlete among the league’s football players. Tatum, a two-time ACC Coach of the Year, coached in the 1950s at both Maryland and North Carolina and believed strongly in the concept of the student-athlete.

Bettridge and the Virginia Cavaliers clinched a berth in the ACC Championship Game with a 27-7 win over Virginia Tech this past Saturday. UVA will take on Duke at Bank of America Stadium this Saturday (Dec. 6) with kick set for 8 p.m.

A Foreign Affairs major with a minor in Entrepreneurship, Bettridge is set to graduate this spring. Prior to the season he was the Cavaliers’ Wiliam V. Campbell Trophy nominee and is a three-time member of the ACC All-Academic Team. Last season he garnered his first College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® Football distinction and was Virginia’s nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy and the All-State Good Works Team in 2024.

On the field this season, Bettridge has connected on 20 of his 24 field goal attempts and is a perfect 46-for-46 on extra point tries. He is currently third in the ACC in scoring with 8.8 ppg and ranks 11^th in the country with 106 total points. With nine points (2-2 FG & 3-3 XP) in the season finale against Virginia Tech, Bettridge took over sole possession of third place on UVA’s all-time scoring list. He now has 302 career points and is 10 points behind Wali Lundy (312)

Virginia All-Time Tatum Award Winners

1981 – Bert Krupp
1982 – Pat Chester
1986 – David Cardenas
1993 – Tom Burns
1997 – Stephen Phelan
1999 – Noel LaMontagne
2007 – Tom Santi
2019 – Jordan Mack
2025 – Will Bettridge