The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors.[1] The honor was first given 37 years ago in 1987 to the outstanding player in the division, but in 1995, eligibility was restricted to offensive players, as the Buck Buchanan Award for defensive players was inaugurated.
 Walter Payton Award | |
| Awarded for | "Most outstanding offensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision" |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Stats Perform |
| History | |
| First award | 1987, 37 years ago |
| Most recent | Mark Gronowski, QB South Dakota State |
| Website | www |
The award was named in honor of National Football League (NFL) legend Walter Payton, who starred at Jackson State University in the early 1970s.[2]
Up until presentations for the 2014 season, the Payton and Buchanan Awards were awarded by The Sports Network. Since STATS LLC, now known as Stats Perform, acquired The Sports Network in February 2015, it has presented all of the major FCS awards.
The most recent winner of the award is Mark Gronowski, a quarterback from South Dakota State who earned the honor during the 2023 season.
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Winners
editAwards won by school
editThis is a list of the colleges and universities who have had a player win a Walter Payton Award. Among the many schools in the division, only nine have claimed more than one award, and only seven have had more than one player win the award. Eastern Washington has had four players win the award, Villanova has had three players win the award, and five have had two players win: Colgate, Georgia Southern, Idaho, New Hampshire, and Eastern Illinois. Two players have won the award twice, with both being the only players from their institutions to win. In 2009, Armanti Edwards from Appalachian State became the first to receive the award twice,[5] followed in 2017 by Jeremiah Briscoe from Sam Houston State.[6][a] In 2019, Trey Lance of North Dakota State was the first freshman to receive the award.[7]
- ^ Team is now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
Footnotes
edit- ^ Sam Houston dropped the word "State" from its athletic branding in 2020.
References
edit- ^ "Walter Payton Award". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ Roy Taylor (2002). "Walter Payton Biography". Bears History. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "Walter Payton Award -- History (1987–2014)". The Sports Network. 2015-01-06. Archived from the original on 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
[note: includes details about each winner's accomplishments during their award year]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Chiusano, Anthony (2024-01-06). "Walter Payton Award: Complete history of the FCS offensive honor (1987–2023)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on 2024-08-30. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
[note: includes details about the award itself, and a simple list of each year's winner]
- ^ "Armanti Edwards wins 2009 Walter Payton Award". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ Chiusano, Anthony (January 5, 2018). "Sam Houston State QB Jeremiah Briscoe wins FCS Walter Payton Award for second straight year". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ Chiusano, Anthony (January 10, 2020). "North Dakota State QB Trey Lance wins 2019 FCS Walter Payton Award". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 11, 2020.