Photo by Tom Nettleton, d3photography.com

In the closest vote in the award's history, North Central senior quarterback Broc Rutter is the winner of the 2019 Gagliardi Trophy, an award presented by Jostens to the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division III.

Rutter is the 15th quarterback to win the Gagliardi Trophy in the 27-year history of the award. Rutter and the Cardinals will take on UW-Whitewater tonight in the Stagg Bowl, the NCAA Division III national championship game in Shenandoah, Texas. Rutter has led the Cardinals to a 13-1 record and is second in NCAA Division III in passing yards — 4,328 yards (Jackson Erdmann, Saint John’s is first with 5,040 yards), passing efficiency — 178.2 (D’Angelo Fulford, Mount Union is first at 230.4 rating) and points responsible for — 326 points (Gavin Zimbleman, Aurora). Rutter, Erdmann and Zimbelman were all finalists in the Gagliardi Trophy voting.

Rutter and the North Central Cardinals defeated Fulford and University of Mount Union in the second round on Nov. 30, 59-52. In that game Rutter threw for a mind-blowing 522 yards, completing 22 of 36 passes against the nation’s second ranked defense. On the season to date, Rutter has thrown for 54 touchdowns while having only five interceptions.

Rutter finished three votes ahead of Erdmann, who won the 2018 Gagliardi Trophy. Erdmann and the Johnnies lost in the semifinals to North Central’s Stagg Bowl opponent, UW-Whitewater 35-32. This was the closest Gagliardi Trophy ballot on record.

The 2019 finalists were Rutter, Erdmann, Zimbelman, Linfield College junior quarterback Wyatt Smith and Birmingham-Southern junior running back Robert Shufford.

Broc Rutter, North Central (Ill.)

              QB | 6-2, 204 | Senior | Marketing

              Naperville, Ill. | Neuqua Valley High School

Highlights of Broc Rutter’s Gagliardi Trophy nomination:

CCIW Offensive Player of the Year (3rd time winner) and First Team All-CCIW (4-time honoree). Established CCIW career records for passing completions (708), yards (9,772) and touchdowns (107) in conference play. Led North Central to CCIW team records for single-season points (507), touchdowns (71) and total offensive yards (5,188) in CCIW games.

Rutter’s community service includes; Best Buddies - After-school program for special-needs men and women; Peer Partners - Program which provides activities, games and sports for special-needs children. These children have come to North Central games and Broc has spent significant time outside the program with them; and Home to Home - Assists with moving homeless families into donated apartment homes.

The Gagliardi Trophy, given annually since 1993, 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 retired in 2012 with 489 career victories, the most in college football history. John passed away a year ago at the age of 91.

The five Gagliardi Trophy finalists were revealed Dec. 12 by D3football.com during a live streaming broadcast. The winner of the 2019 Gagliardi Trophy was announced by D3football.com on Friday, Dec. 20 prior to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl where North Central College (Ill.) will face University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Shenandoah, Texas.

The trophy design features a sculpture of Gagliardi and a player, representing the teacher-coach and the student-athlete in a one-on-one sideline consultation. Hand-cast in bronze on a polished wood base, the trophy stands nearly two feet tall and weighs over 50 pounds. The words "The Gagliardi Trophy presented by Jostens & J-Club" are printed on the acrylic panel behind the figures. The words "Division III 2019 Player of the Year" and "Honoring Excellence in Football, Academics and Community Service" are etched on two panels below the figures.

Nominations were submitted by colleges across the country, and 12 semifinalists were selected by the J-Club Board of Directors. The semifinalists then moved on to the Gagliardi Trophy national-selection committee, which is comprised of 39 Division III coaches, administrators, former Gagliardi Trophy recipients, business leaders and sports writers deemed experts in Division III football from around the country. Each cast a ballot ranking the semifinalists from 12 (top pick) to 1. A fan ballot, which served as the 40th committee member was operated on D3football.com and had over 15,000 votes cast.