DETROIT (1/21/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy Department Of Athletics and family members of the late Titan football great John Conti were on hand on Saturday during the #MetroSeries men's basketball game as they presented this year's John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award to former soccer standout and current Detroit police officer Abby (McCollum) Campbell '14.
"The spirit of this award is to honor those former student-athletes who go on to make a difference in their community and a Detroit police officer is someone our community depends on every day," said Detroit Mercy Director of Athletics
Robert C. Vowels, Jr. "The difference she has made to this community, especially to one family, is amazing and she embodies what this award is all about."
The John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award was established by Anheuser-Busch to honor its long-time employee upon his induction into the Titan Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. Conti was the captain of the 1949 Detroit football team that won the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. At 6-1 and 300 pounds, he was an Honorable Mention All-American and the biggest man in college football. His spirit and charitable enthusiasm have always seemed to be even larger. In tribute to that spirit, the John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award is presented to former Titan varsity athletes who go above and beyond at work and in the community.
Campbell is a police officer in Detroit and in her short time on the police force, she made an immediate impact to a local citizen. She was recognized locally for her efforts in saving a man's life from suicide just a couple of miles away from her alma mater.
Campbell starred on the women's soccer team from 2010-2013 and was twice selected All-Horizon League, earning first team accolades as a sophomore and second team as a junior.
She was co-captain as a senior and a preseason All-Conference selection, but a knee injury limited her to just 11 games. She finished her four-year career playing in 68 games, 64 starts, and scoring 17 goals with 14 assists for 48 points. Campbell still stands 12th in school history in points, tied for 12th in goals and tied for ninth in assists.
During her time at Detroit Mercy, she also suited up for the lacrosse, basketball and softball team.
Some of the past winners of this award include Detroit firefighter and former men's basketball standout Terry Duerod, former men's fencer and Olympian Tyrone Simmons, former baseball player in the late Reginald Hall, current assistant men's basketball coach Jermaine Jackson and former Titan football player Dennis Flynn.
