Melberger Award
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The Melberger Award is given annually to an outstanding U.S. college football player in Division III. The award is named after Clifford Melberger and is presented by Diversified Information Technologies, which Mr. Melberger leads as president.
The Melberger is one of two awards given to Division III football players, the other being the better-known Gagliardi Trophy. The focus of the two awards has historically been slightly different. The Gagliardi factors in community service, academics, and athletics; the Melberger is presented to the best athlete. In recent years the Melberger has fallen into disfavor due to poor publicity and coordination by the firm which now sponsors the award. From the period 2002-2004, the award was given not to the nation's most outstanding Division III football players, but to the player in the local region who could attend (at their own cost) the awards ceremony in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. This resulted in the award being given to players who would often struggle to make an all-region team, let alone be named the best player in the country. Prior to 2002, the Melberger Award was funded and supported by the Wilkes-Barre Touchdown Club.
In 2005, the award was once again presented to a deserving national candidate, which gives hope that the Melberger will again be able to earn the respect it once had.
For more background on the Melberger debacle, see the D3football.com article in the External Links section.
[edit] Previous winners
| Year | Winner | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Jim Ballard | Mount Union |
| 1994 | Carey Bender | Coe |
| 1995 | Craig Kusick, Jr. | Wisconsin-La Crosse |
| 1996 | Bill Borchert | Mount Union |
| 1997 | Bill Borchert | Mount Union |
| 1998 | Mike Burton | Trinity (TX) |
| 1999 | Scott Pingel | Westminster (MO) |
| 2000 | R.J. Bowers | Grove City |
| 2001 | Chuck Moore | Mount Union |
| 2002 | Daniel Pincelli | Hartwick |
| 2003 | Brett Trichilo | Wilkes |
| 2004 | Brett Trichilo | Wilkes |
| 2005 | Brett Elliott | Linfield |
| 2006 | Chris Sharpe | Springfield |
