CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today that former standout football player Blaine Hawkins has been named the A-R-C Duane Schroeder Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2021-22 academic year, in the 22nd year of the award. The award, the highest individual honor from the conference, goes to an alumnus from the previous academic year. 
 
Hawkins was a five-year standout quarterback for the Dutch. Hawkins was recently honored as NCAA Today’s Top 10 that will be recognized at the 2023 NCAA Convention in San Antonio later this week. Hawkins earned one of the highest honors in the country, being named the 2021 Gagliardi Trophy Winner, which is the NCAA Division III Football Player of the Year. He earned All-American status with honors from the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, and D3football.com when he earned first-team for each for his 2021 campaign where he led the Dutch to the quarterfinals in the NCAA Football Playoffs. He was named the D3football.com Offensive Player of the Year in 2021 to continue the long list of athletic achievements Hawkins had while at Central. He earned the league’s Offensive MVP for his efforts in the 2019 and 2021 seasons. After earning honorable mention honors in the conference his freshman year, he earned First-Team All-Conference honors in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Hawkins holds many national records in Division III and event two records that are the best in the entire country: most touchdown passes for a season (63) and points responsible for in a season, running or passing (410). He holds two conference records for most passing touchdowns in a season (44) and most passing yards in a season (2,811 yards). Conference records only account for statistics in conference contests. He holds an additional nine school records at Central. 
 
In addition to Hawkin’s athletic accomplishments, he graduated Cum Laude with a cumulative GPA of 3.612 on a 4.0 scale while double majoring in Economics and Business Management. The Ankeny, Iowa native was named CoSIDA Academic All-American Second-Team in 2021 and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District First-Team in 2020-21 and 2021. He was named to the A-R-C All-Academic team in 2018, 2020, and 2021. Hawkins completed an internship in London with Nimble Babies. He had to complete his internship remotely when he was forced to return to the United States in March 2020 due to the global pandemic, COVID-19. He was also a Retail Fuel Intern for Casey’s General Stores in the summer of 2018 and 2019. 
 
Off the field and out of the classroom, Hawkins remains active. He was a part of the Central Service Day each year he was at Central which is a full day commitment. Hawkins helped with landscaping duties at the Scholte House in Pella and Enabling Garden in Altoona. He also worked to build and maintain hiking trails at Kuehn Conservation Center which is located near Earlham. He also volunteered with the Conmigo Early Education Center and Work of Our Hands. 
 
“Extraordinary individuals make the American Rivers Conference extraordinary,” said A-R-C Commissioner Dan Hammes. “Nebraska Wesleyan’s Reagan Janzen and Central’s Blaine Hawkins epitomize what the American Rivers Conference and NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletics is intended to represent: athletic achievement, academic excellence, character development, and a commitment to community service for the advancement of others. The willingness and sacrifice necessary to become an academic and athletic All-American, Elite 90 award recipient, or Gagliardi Trophy winner -  while never losing one’s perspective or sense of priority as to what’s important in life - is something to celebrate. I congratulate Reagan and Blaine on being selected by our Faculty Athletic Representatives for the highest honor that the Conference can bestow.”
 
Hawkins is the eighth Central student-athlete to be named Scholar-Athlete of the Year, behind Will Daniels (2018-19), Riley Gray (2016-17), Kyle Freischlag (2013-14), Jill (Ziskovsky) Halcomb (2010-11), Adam Duerfeldt (2005-06), Katie Pederson (2005-06), and Raegan (Schultz) Wagner (2003-04). 
 
What They Say About Blaine Hawkins
 
Head Football Coach Jeff McMartin: "Blaine Hawkins does a great job of leading others, not only by what he says but also more importantly, through his actions. Blaine would be the first player on the practice field every day and the last one to leave. He embraced our off-season conditioning program in the weight room and pound for pound, became one of our strongest and fastest football players. Blaine is a very humble individual whose hard work has earned him the respect of his teammates. Whatever we asked of Blaine, he did without complaint. He is a very caring and compassionate person. If anyone on our team was having a difficult time fitting in or struggled with a personal problem, | would not hesitate to have Blaine spend time with that athlete. He has done an excellent job grooming young players to be future leaders. Blaine has made smart choices when it comes to “off the field” social issues. There are many college athletes who have a hard time saying “no” to peer-pressure, but Blaine’s maturity allowed him to serve as a positive role model with his teammates.”  
 
Assistant Professor of Economics Tuan Nguygen: “Even with his records, Blaine remained an exceptionally humble person who took pride in hard work and doing things the right way. He was always a positive presence in the classroom and engaged with his classmates and myself in a manner that enriched the learning environment. As good as he was in the football field, he was similarly outstanding in the classroom.”
 
Professor of Finance Graham Lemke, Ph.D.: “From the first class that Blaine took with me, it was obvious that he was committed to high academic achievement. He was an exemplary student, and it became evident that his enthusiasm for learning not only made my job as a professor more enjoyable, but motivated many of his classmates and teammates to raise their level of focus and commitment as well. Blaine has excelled in his Economics and Finance classes, graduating cum laude from Central College. He was always well prepared for class, and I know from talking with his classmates and observing his behavior working with others, that his commitment to academics had a very positive impact on his fellow students. Even though Blaine planned for a career in finance, he was excited to take on the extra work required for an Economics Major. Blaine’s commitment to academics at the highest level along with his outstanding contributions on the football field embody a great example of what it means to be a student-athlete.”
 
Also nominated for the 2021-22 A-R-C Duane Schroeder Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award was Wartburg Baseball & Indoor Track and Field athlete Max Goodhue and Loras Basketball player Rowan McGowen. 
 
The Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year is selected among the finalists by a vote of the A-R-C Faculty Representatives (FAR). 
 
About the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards
 
The American Rivers Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were first presented in December 2001 for the 2000-01 academic year. To be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete shall have graduated or exhausted their athletic eligibility during the academic year for which the award is given. The nominee must have demonstrated a high level of accomplishment and achievement in a varsity sport, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), and show evidence of scholarly achievements, community service involvement and leadership. Both awards were named originally for former Wartburg College and Conference sports information director Duane Schroeder in May 2002. The women’s award was renamed in 2013 for former Luther College student-athlete Johanna Olson - the inaugural winner of the women’s award - who lost a courageous battle with cancer in January 2013.
 
About Duane Schroeder 
 
The American Rivers Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is named in honor of the late Duane Schroeder, former sports information director (SID) at Wartburg College. Schroeder served as Wartburg’s SID for 43 years until his retirement in 2000. Upon his retirement from his sports information duties, he was named SID Emeritus and served as Wartburg’s News Director until 2001. During much of his four decades at Wartburg, Schroeder served as the Conference’s information director and secretary/treasurer.