PHILADELPHIA – Penn Athletics is proud to announce that former sprint football offensive lineman Ben Friedman C'19 was recently named a 2021 recipient of the prestigious Thouron Award by the University of Pennsylvania. Friedman was one of five recipients across the Penn community to earn this scholarship.

"Ben is a leader of men both on and off the playing field," said Sprint Football Head Coach Emeritus Bill Wagner. "His skills helped to pave the way for the most prolific offense in the CSFL that featured the number one passing attack and the first-team running back. The Thouron Award is a tremendous honor for Ben. He will make our Penn family very proud of his achievements and represent the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Sprint Football in the U.K."

The Thouron Award is a graduate exchange program between the United Kingdom and Penn. Its funding provides generous scholarships for postgraduate study abroad, and recipients join a stimulating community of international scholars and Thouron alumni. With its goal of furthering British-American understanding, the Thouron award gives British Scholars the opportunity to study at any of the dozen graduate schools at the University of Pennsylvania, while American Scholars can pursue a graduate degree at any university in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). On both sides of the Atlantic, Thouron Scholars enjoy the support and inspiration of the Thouron Community.

The award was established in 1960 by Sir John Thouron and his American wife, Lady Thouron, to promote closer ties between the people of the United Kingdom and the United States. It is among the most prestigious and generous academic scholarships in the world, giving young people of outstanding ability and open minds the means to study, travel and immerse themselves in the life of their host country. Scholars are chosen not only for their academic achievements, but for their ability to engage with one another and take an active part in a changing world. They are expected to act as student-ambassadors, putting their energy and intellect to work strengthening the ties between two great nations.

Meet Ben Friedman (from the University's Thouron Award release)
Ben Friedman, from Lexington, Massachusetts, earned a bachelor's degree in political science and communications with a minor in survey research and data analytics from Penn in 2019. Friedman has worked on a number of political campaigns, most recently as New Hampshire press secretary for the campaign of President Joseph Biden. At Penn, Friedman was president of Penn Consumer Assistance Support & Education, or Penn CASE, a student organization devoted to consumer protection and advocacy in Philadelphia. He played on the varsity sprint football team, which won a Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) championship in 2016, and was a three-time all-league selection at offensive line. Friedman received the Annenberg School for Communication's C. Nicole Dickerson Award for public service and was an Academic All-Ivy League selection for Fall 2017-2018. Friedman plans to pursue a master's degree in a policy field and then return to the U.S. to pursue a career in public service.

Read the full press release.