MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- A total of 238 NCAA Division III colleges feature the sport of football. Over 19,000 student-athletes play football in Division III. And now, only four of those student-athletes are in contention for the 2009 Gagliardi Trophy. Union College senior linebacker John Peters is one of those four special individuals, as Peters was named the East Region Finalist on December 10.
Peters is one of four finalists who have been named for the 2009 Gagliardi Trophy, awarded annually to the outstanding football player in NCAA Division III. Sponsored by Jostens and the J-Club of Saint John's University, Minnesota, the Gagliardi Trophy recognizes excellence in athletics, academics and community service.
The 2009 Regional Finalists are:
EAST Region - John Peters, Senior Linebacker, Union College (New York).
NORTH Region - Blaine Westemeyer, Senior Offensive Tackle, Augustana College (Illinois).
SOUTH Region - Gerry (Spud) Dick, Senior Quarterback, DePauw University (Indiana).
WEST Region - Alex Tanney, Junior Quarterback, Monmouth College (Illinois).
The National Winner will be announced on Tuesday, December 15 and the recipient will be presented with the trophy on Thursday evening, December 17 at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va., as part of the festivities leading up to the Division III National Championship game played in Salem on Saturday, December 19.
Of the previous 16 recipients of the Gagliardi Trophy, one player was a defensive player, strong safety Rocky Myers of Wesley College in 2004.
The trophy is named for Saint John's University head football coach John Gagliardi, the first active head coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2006) and the winningest coach in college football history with a record of 471-126-11 (.784). Gagliardi set the all-time win record on November 8, 2003.
Additional information can be found at www.gojohnnies.com/gagliarditrophy.
The last Union player to be selected as a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy was RB Tom Arcidiacono, who is now the running backs coach with Union. Arcidiacono was one of four players who were regional finalists in December of 2006.
Peters was named an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American and a Liberty League First Team All Star. He had 121 tackles and 6.5 tackles for losses in the 2009 season. He was a four time Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week and led the league in tackles all season. He is the first Union player to reach 100 tackles in a season since 1996. Peters finished second all-time at Union for single season tackles and is 22nd in NCAA Div. III this year. He finished his career with 228 tackles, which ranks tied for eighth all time at Union. Peters was named to the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team, and is eligible for All-American honors. He tied his own school record this year with 22 tackles in a game vs. Rochester. He had seven games with double figure tackles, including 15 vs. Susquehanna and 14 at Muhlenberg.
Peters serves as a tutor for the Academic Opportunity Program at Union and also is the Philanthropy Chairman and Treasurer for Theta Delta Chi. Upon admittance to Union, Peters was presented with the Presidential Scholarship and he received the David L. Henle Scholarship, presented for high school achievement. He is one of four students from the entire student body at Union to be nominated for the Goldwater Scholarship. He was awarded the Davenport Summer Research Fellowship to conduct organic chemistry research off campus. Peters helped lead the football team to tutoring at Pleasant Valley Middle School and Zollar Elementary School for three years and he has tutored and coached area youth in his hometown of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. The Biology major minors in Mathematics and Chemistry.
The winner of the Gagliardi Trophy is selected by a 35-member national selection committee comprised of coaches, sports writers, community leaders and former Division III student-athletes enshrined in the National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame. The committee includes Professional Football Hall of Fame tight end Dave Casper, College Football Hall of Fame and 1985 Heisman Trophy finalist Joe Dudek, Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher, Sports Illustrated writer Austin Murphy, and CBS News anchor Harry Smith.
In the third year of online voting, fans were able to rank the 10 finalists and cast an electronic ballot that collectively was added to the 35 votes of the national selection committee. In one of the closest tallies in the 17 years of the Gagliardi Trophy: nine of the 10 finalists received at least one first-place vote with the 10th candidate receiving one second-place vote.
