COLLEGEVILLE, MN -- Union College senior linebacker
John Peters has been selected as one of 10 national finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy.
The Gagliardi Trophy was first presented in 1993. Since that time, the award has become one of the leading collegiate football awards and is widely recognized as the premier individual award in Division III football, honoring excellence in athletics, academics and community service.
The 2009 finalists are:
Gerry Dick (Sr., QB) - DePauw
Judd Lutz (Sr., LB) - Mount Union
Dave Paveletz (Sr., RB) - Susquehanna
John Peters (Sr., LB) - Union
Jeff Schebler (Sr., K) - Wisconsin-Whitewater
Adam Shaffer (Sr., QB) - Mississippi College
Alex Tanney (Jr., QB) - Monmouth (Ill.)
Blaine Westemeyer (Sr., OT) - Augustana (Ill.)
Dan Whalen (Sr., QB) - Case Western Reserve
David Zachary (Sr., RB) - Central
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 joins Mount Union's Judd Lutz as the only two defensive players to be included in the list of 2009 finalists.
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.
Nominations for the award are made by the college president with supporting letters and credentials provided by the head football coach. After screening the nominations, the SJU J-Club Board of Directors narrows the field to 10 finalists including at least one finalist in each of the four NCAA regions. The 35-member Gagliardi Trophy national selection committee reviews the credentials, ranks the candidates 1-10 and casts their votes. Starting in 2007, fans were given one collective vote on the d3football.com web site. The student-athlete with the highest vote total is named recipient. The Biology major minors in Mathematics and Chemistry.
The winner of the Gagliardi Trophy is selected by a 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. This will be the third year fans will be able to cast an electronic ballot that collectively will be added to the 35 votes of the national selection committee.
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.
The 17th annual Gagliardi award will be presented on Thursday, December 17, in Salem, Va., as part of the festivities leading up to the Division III National Championship game played in Salem on Saturday, December 19.
You can cast your vote for John here. Voting will conclude on Monday, December 7 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time.
