Photo by Doug Sasse, d3photography.com

For the second straight year, Division III’s most prestigious football award will remain at North Central. Record-setting quarterback Luke Lehnen of the top-ranked Cardinals has been named the 2023 winner of the Gagliardi Trophy, presented by Stearns Bank. The junior leads North Central into tonight’s 2023 Amos Stagg Bowl – the NCAA Division III national championship game – in Salem, Va.

A native of Chatham, Ill., Lehnen is having a monstrous year. Heading into the title game against Cortland, he has completed 162 of 215 passes (75.3 percent) for 3,228 yards and 46 touchdowns with just two interceptions. The exercise science major has also rushed for 735 yards (7.4 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns.

Lehnen's pass-efficiency rating of 270.2 is the highest among any quarterback in college football and is on pace to break the Division III and all-divisions single-season record of 230.4, set by Mount Union's D'Angelo Fulford in 2019. Lehnen is also on pace to establish new Division III single-season records for yards per completed pass (20.0), yards per pass atempt (15.3) and percentage of passes completed for touchdowns (21.9).

The current record of 19.7 yards per completion was set by David Parker of Bishop College (Texas) in 1981, while the record for yards per atempt (12.9) was set by Willie Seller of Saint John's in 1993. Mount Union's Bill Borchert set the current national record for percentage of passes completed for touchdowns (17.3) in 1997, a year in which he won the Gagliardi Trophy.

Lehnen is the 17th quarterback to win the Gagliardi Trophy in the 31-year history of the award. He is North Central’s third Gagliardi Trophy recipient and second at the quarterback position. Quarterback Broc Ruter won the award in 2019 and running back Ethan Greenfield was the 2022 recipient. Of the 40 voters, 65 percent had Lehnen as a top-3 pick. For the second consecutive year, Mount Union senior quarterback Braxton Plunk – college football’s all-time career passing yard leader – came in second. Senior linebacker Owen Grover from Wartburg was the D3football.com Fan Vote winner.

The other 2023 finalists were:

• Jake Breitbach WR Senior Gustavus Adolphus
• Owen Grover LB Senior Wartburg
• Tucker Horn QB Senior Trinity (Texas)
• Braxton Plunk QB Senior Mount Union

The Gagliardi Trophy, presented by Stearns Bank to the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division III, has been given annually since 1993, It recognizes excellence in athletics, academics and community service. The award is named after John Gagliardi, Saint John's legendary Hall of Fame head football coach who passed away at the age of 91 in 2018. John retired in 2012 with 489 career victories, the most in college football history.

Stearns Bank’s longtime CEO Norm Skalicky and Gagliardi were longtime friends and admirers of one another. Both became legends in their respective fields - not just because of their success, but because of how they looked uniquely upon their work.

The Gagliardi Trophy winner was announced by D3football.com hosts Pat Coleman and Frank Rossi during a live show today (Friday, Dec. 15) on D3football.com.

A record number of nominations were submitted by colleges across the country, and the semifinalists were selected by the J-Club Board of Directors. The Gagliardi Trophy national-selection committee is comprised of 18 Division III coaches (three from each NCAA Region), six Division III administrators (one from each region), 12 regional notable voters (two from each region) and six national voters with Division III backgrounds. No J-Club members vote as part of the national-selection committee.

About Stearns Bank N.A.

Minnesota-based Stearns Bank National Association is a $2.2 billion, independently-owned financial institution with locations in Minnesota, Florida and Arizona, and over 35,000 small business customers nationwide, in every state across the U.S. Recognized as having a bullet-proof balance sheet with 25% capital and earning top rankings as one of the nation’s highest-performing banks by American Banker, and most recently ranked fourth in the U.S. among banks having more than $1 billion in assets by Independent Banker’s 2023 Best of the Best ranking of banks with the highest 3-year average Return on Assets, Stearns Bank specializes in nationwide commercial construction lending, USDA and SBA lending, and small business and equipment financing. Driven by a passion to help others achieve their greatest ambitions, Stearns Bank’s mission is to Get the Job Done! For more information, visit StearnsBank.com

About the Saint John's University J-Club:

Founded in 1959, the Saint John's University J-Club is a dues-based booster organization of former Johnnie student-athletes, parents, and fans, and plays a key role in support of the SJU varsity programs, intramurals and club sports. Saint John's is a private liberal arts college for men located in Collegeville, Minnesota.