2025 Rimington Award Winners for the Nation’s Top Center for FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA Announced

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New York, NY – Four first-time selections headline this year’s recipients of the prestigious Rimington Award, presented annually to the top centers in the FCS, DII, DIII, and NAIA divisions for over two decades.

Trent Fraley of North Dakota State has been named the Rimington Award winner for the FCS level. Fraley, a junior from Moon Township, Pa., was named a first team All-American by FCS Central, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) as well as first team all-conference by the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Fraley has started every game at center for the Bison over the last two seasons, leading an offense that averaged 212 yards rushing and 238 yards passing per game. Fraley is 26-3 as a starter.

Photo from the North Dakota State University homecoming football game against the University of South Dakota on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025.
North Dakota State University football headshot taken August 8, 2025.

Slade Edwards of Central Washington has earned the Rimington Award at the DII level. Edwards, a senior from Yelm, Wash., was a Gene Upshaw Award Finalist as well as First Team All Lone Star Conference and AFCA All-American. Edwards has been a leader of the Wildcats offensive unit that was dominant in 2025. The ‘Cats offense garnered 266.1 rushing yards per game and 154.83 passing yards per game for a total of 420.9 yards per contest this season. The offensive line was exceptional at containing defenses only allowing 43 tackles for loss and 10 sacks all season

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2024 Rimington Award Winners for the Nation’s Top Center for FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA Announced

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New York, NY – Four first-time selections headline this year’s recipients of the prestigious Rimington Award, presented annually to the top centers in the FCS, DII, DIII, and NAIA divisions for over two decades.

Reid Williams of UT-Chattanooga has been named the Rimington Award winner for the FCS level. Williams, a redshirt junior from Ringgold, Ga., is a three-time All-Southern Conference Team selection. Williams also earned CSC Academic All-District and FCS ADA Academic awards. As a three-year starter for the Mocs, he played a pivotal role in their 7-5 season, during which the team averaged 346.2 yards per game. Williams was graded as the top center for most of the season by Pro Football Focus (PFF) and served as a team captain.

Reid Williams of UT-Chattanooga
Reid Williams of UT-Chattanooga
Jake Gannon of Bemidji State University
Jake Gannon of Bemidji State University
Matt Wrather of John Carroll University
Matt Wrather of John Carroll University
Will Angel of Indiana Wesleyan
Will Angel of Indiana Wesleyan

Jake Gannon of Bemidji State University has earned the Rimington Award at the DII level. Gannon, a graduate student from Franklin, Wisc., is a three-time All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NSIC) honoree and five-time NSIC All-Academic Team member.  Gannon overcame an injury during his senior year to comeback to lead Bemidji State as a graduate student and has been named a 2024 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award finalist. He anchored an offensive line that averaged 360.8 yards per game and helped guide the Beavers to the NCAA DII National Quarterfinals.

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2023 Rimington Award Winners for the Nation’s Top Center for FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA Announced

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New York, NY – Four first time selections headline this year’s winners of the Rimington Award. The Rimington award has been given for over 20 years to the top centers in the FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA divisions.

Gus Miller – South Dakota State
Gus Miller – South Dakota State
Shane Bumgardner – Tiffin
Shane Bumgardner – Tiffin
Jared Thorton _ North Central
Jared Thorton
Keegan Martin – Friends
Keegan Martin – Friends

Gus Miller of South Dakota State University is the winner of the FCS Division. Miller, a junior from Brookings, S.D. was a second team All-Conference selection in the Missouri Valley Football Conference starting all 11 regular season games at center for the Jackrabbits, who allowed only eight sacks during the regular season. The Jackrabbits have advanced to the NCAA FCS National Championship game averaging 38.4 points per game and 456.1 yards of total offense. Additionally, Miller excels in the classroom as a multi-year honoree on the MVFC Academic Honor Roll.

Shane Bumgardner of Tiffin University is the winner of the DII level. Bumgardner, a senior from West Jefferson, Ohio was also an Upshaw Award Finalist for the top overall lineman in NCAA DII. He is a 2023 D2CCA All Super Region 1 first team honoree and a two-time First-Team All-G-MAC selection for the Dragons, who finished the regular season 11-0. Tiffin ranks fourth in D-II in total offense and first downs, fifth in rushing offense, and sixth in scoring offense as they won the G-MAC championship.

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2022 Rimington Award Winners for the Nation’s Top Center for FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA Announced

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Dalton Simpson of Susquehanna University
Dalton Simpson - DIII
Dalton Simpson of Susquehanna University
Dalton Simpson - DIII
Andrew Carter – NAIA
Zach Gieg – FCS
Zach Gieg – FCS
Matt Armendariz – DII
Matt Armendariz – DII
Andrew Carter – NAIA
2022 Winners of the Rimington Award

Matt Armendariz of Colorado School of Mines Repeats as NCAA DII Winner of the 2022 Rimington Award.

New York, NY – Matt Armendariz of Colorado School of Mines headlines the 2022 Rimington Award honorees as a repeat winner at the NCAA DII level. The Rimington award has been given each of the last 20 years to the top centers in the FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA divisions. Armendariz is only the sixth repeat winner in the history of the award and the first in DII.

Armendariz of Colorado School of Mines, a redshirt senior from Austin, Texas, was named first team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and was a preseason Lindy’s All-American. He was also a first team Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference selection as well as First Team D2CCA Super Region 4 award winner for the past two seasons. Armendariz has been key to blocking for the Orediggers offense as they averaged 484 total yards per game and 46.67 points per game.

Zack Gieg of Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is the winner for the FCS Division Rimington Award. Gieg, a senior from Morgan Hill, Calif., was also named 2nd Team All-American by the Stats Perform FCS All-America Team as well as first team all-conference by Ohio Valley Conference this season in 2021 and 2022. The Redhawks qualified for the FCS Playoffs this season, finishing with a 9-3 record, Offensively Gieg helped to anchor the offensive line which produced 35.6 points per game, 225.6 yards rushing and 242.6 yards passing in 2022. Gieg is the third winner from SEMO, following Sean Middleton (2010) and Eugene Amano (2003).

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2021 Rimington Award Winners for the Nation’s Top Center for FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA Announced

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Monmouth’s AJ Farris and Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Mike Olsen Repeat as Rimington Award Winners.

New York, NY – AJ Farris of Monmouth University (N.J.) and Mike Olsen of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh has been named repeat winners of the Rimington Award for 2021. The Rimington award has been given each of the last 19 years to the top centers in the FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA divisions. This year marks the first time there have been repeat winners in multiple divisions and only the fourth and fifth repeat winners in the history of the award.

Matt Armendariz
Colorado School of Mines
Matt Armendariz
Colorado School of Mines
Mike Olsen
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Mike Olsen
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
AJ Farris
Monmouth University
AJ Farris
Monmouth University
Matt Dey
Dickinson State
Matt Dey
Dickinson State

Farris of Monmouth University (N.J.) is a repeat winner for the FCS Division Rimington Award. Farris, a senior from Newark, Del. was twice named to the Stats Perform FCS All-America Team and was also named to the HERO Sports All-American team. He earned First Team All-Big South honors last spring and this fall after leading the Hawks offensive line since 2019. Farris was a third team All-American by two separate media outlets after the 2019 season and was a first team preseason All-American for 2020. Monmouth averaged 391.9 yards of total offense per game last season.

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Former University of Sioux Falls Head Coach Kalen DeBoer to Lead University of Washington Football Program.

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Kalen DeBoer hugs Chuck Morrell after the University of Sioux Falls 2006 NAIA Football Championship.

Kalen DeBoer is the new head coach of the University of Washington football team. Yes, PAC-12 member Washington has a new head coach that used to coach in the Great Plains Athletic Conference and I think it’s awesome. If you only follow DI FBS football, you are likely one of the folks commenting on the meteoric rise of Deboer as he packs up to become the new head coach of the University of Washington. Most people see his DI career arc only. It looks like this: 2014 Offensive Coordinator at Eastern Michigan to 2017 Offensive Coordinator at Fresno State to 2019 Offensive Coordinator at Indiana to 2020 Head Coach at Fresno State to today. . .head coach of the University of Washington Huskies.

But I’m one of those people who still can’t get past what Kalen did at the University of Sioux Falls. He hasn’t coached in the NAIA in over 10 years and his 67-3 record is still something that’s absolutely remarkable. I can literally tell you the three losses with no research: Carroll College in a title game, Carroll College in a semifinal game on the road, and Morningside College on the road. He never lost a game in Sioux Falls as a head coach. . .that’s insane.

For anyone who was around Kalen in his early days as a coordinator at USF under Bob Young this news is not surprising. His career was going to be one of two paths: a 30 year career at USF or leave and continue to be a great college football coach. But the one thing I can attest to is how good of a person Kalen is and how well he treated me in all of the years of covering him. He never dodged a question or avoided answering my call. He was just a pleasure to cover.

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Tales from the NAIA: Why Bruce Parker was the Greatest Athletic Director I Ever Encountered.

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Last summer on July 2nd the world, the NAIA, college athletics, and most importantly the Parker family, lost a great man. His name was Bruce Parker and he was my friend. At the time when he passed away, I stated on social media that I would give Bruce his due down the road. I’ve always been a bit miffed on how we honor someone when they pass away and then we hear nary a word about them until some posthumous award is given to them or a building is named in their honor.

Bruce and Lisa Parker. Photo from 406MTSports.com

So many people knew, loved, and respected Bruce. If I would’ve written about him last summer my experiences would’ve been lost in the outpouring of love and grief displayed for Bruce. So I am being a bit selfish writing this down the road and wanting people to pay attention to what I have to say. There are a ton of stories I would like to share about Bruce, but for now I want to focus on a few things that made him special and how he helped me personally.

Casey Page of 406MTSports.com wrote a great piece on Bruce. If you need to catch up, here it is: “Bruce Parker, a decorated Montana sports figure who is enshrined in five Halls of Fame for his work as athletic director at Carroll College and then Rocky Mountain College, died after a long fight with diabetes and complications following a kidney transplant. He was 64.”

Bruce understood what I was trying to do when I owned the Victory Sports Network and he saw what it meant to schools, athletes and alumni. He was a trusted advisor to my business and did everything he could to help me grow it into the national media for NAIA athletics. He also understood the struggles that I had with NAIA national office early in my career. I was the young kid poking them in the side all the time. I’d ask them questions they didn’t want to answer and often times did not following their protocols. They didn’t hate me but they didn’t exactly like me. The NAIA tolerated me. Then a moment in November of 2007 changed it all.

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40 Concepts to Understand

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40 Concepts to Understand
Photo by S Migaj on Pexels.com

This was a particulary good “Morning Brew” email I received today. So I thought I’d save the information in a place where all can see.

“Considering that we just finished the final weekend of the summer, take 30 seconds to revisit the past three months. What were the highlights? Who were the people you met? What are the experiences you hope to build upon?”

Here are 40 Concepts to Understand from @G_S_Bhogal‘s MEGATHREAD on 9/17/21. This list start with ideas like “Abstraction” and “Scope Neglect”. It’s a great read to remind you why people might think so differently than you.

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2020 Rimington Award Winners for the Nation’s Top Center for FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA Announced

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New York, NY – May 2021

The Rimington Award honors the top center in FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA levels not just for the contributions on the field but off the field as well. This year’s selection process veered out of our normal evaluation techniques due to the lack of games played in all divisions. This year’s selection relied heavily on each center’s career prior to the 2020 shortened season.

AJ Farris of Monmouth University
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2019 Rimington Award Winners for the Nation’s Top Center for FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA Announced

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New York, NY – Zach Larsen of Southern Utah headlines the 2019 Rimington Award winners for the FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA divisions. This year’s selections mark the 17th time the top center of each respective level has received the award.

Larsen, a senior from Draper, Utah, has been one of the more decorated centers in recent FCS history. He is a three-time All-Big Sky Conference honoree, earning unanimous first team honors this season. In 2018 he was named an All-American by Phil Steele as well as by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. In 2017 he received All-American honors from STATS, Hero Sports and Phil Steele. Additionally, Larsen has been a fulltime starter at center for the Thunderbirds since his freshman year.  Zach is the first Thunderbird to ever receive the Rimington Award and the fourth winner from the Big Sky Conference.

Jake Lacina of Augustana University (S.D.) is the DII division winner of the Rimington Award. Lacina, a senior from Saint Paul, Minn., was named first team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and first team All-Conference by the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). In his career, Lacina started all 45 games in his career with the Vikings while being elected a team captain this season. He was also a D2football.com preseason All-American before the start of the 2019 season. He is the first center from Augustana and the NSIC to ever receive the Rimington Award.

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