Blaine Westemeyer will graduate this spring as arguably (or maybe no argument needed) the most decorated athlete in Augustana’s storied football history.  He’ll be adding one more award to his increasingly crowded trophy case, the Gagliardi Award which is given to the NCAA Division III Outstanding Football Player of the Year.

On December 17th Westemeyer became the first offensive lineman to win the award and only the second non-offensive skill position player to capture the honor (see yearly winners below).  There is not enough room on this page to discuss all of the accolades that this incredible representative of the Augie community has collected in his four years on campus, so we just listed them below.

Congratulations to Blaine, his family, and the Augustana football community.

THE BLAINE WESTEMEYER LEDGER: 2006-09

GAGLIARDI AWARD WINNER – 2009 (given to top player in NCAA Division III who shows best combination of athletic prowess, academic excellence and community involvement)

NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL POST-GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP – $18,000.00 scholarship given to just 16 players nationwide (across all divisions)… Blaine was one of just two NCAA Division III players so honored

AMERICAN FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION (AFCA) ALL-AMERICAN (1 st team) – Named two years in a row: 2008 & 2009

ESPN – THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN (as named by CoSIDA) – Two time first team honoree

ESPN – THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT (as named by CoSIDA) – 1 st team in 2008 & 2009 and third team in 2007

ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTION IN COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS & WISCONSIN (CCIW) – Three time first team selection: 2007 – 2008 – 2009

D3 FOOTBALL.COM ALL-NORTH REGION – Selected two years in a row: 2008 & 2009

JACK SWARTZ AWARD BY CCIW – Three time winner in 2007 – 2008 – 2009…Award is given to one male and one female athlete at each school in CCIW at the end of each athletic season…Blaine is only three time winner in CCIW history.

NCAA DIVISION III PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICAN – Consensus selection in both 2008 & 2009

TAZON de ESTRELLAS (Bowl of Stars) PARTICIPANT – Selected to play on “Team Stars & Stripes” with NCAA Division III all-star team at Tec de Monterrey Campus Estado de Mexico against the Mexican All-Stars

OFFENSIVE MVP 2009 – Selected by his teammates to be the 2009 Augustana “Offensive MVP”

FRESHMAN MVP 2006 – Selected by his teammates in fall of 2006 to be the team’s Most Valuable Freshman on offense

NCAA POSTGRADUATE NOMINEE – 2009-10 school year…Winners will be named in January of 2010

NCAA TOP VIII AWARD NOMINEE – Winners will be announced at 2010 NCAA Convention

TEAM CAPTAIN – Captained 2010 Augustana team along with teammates Jake Parke, Aaron Setchell and Preston Jones

FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES – Active member of Augustana chapter

STUDENT ATHLETE ADVISORY COMMITTEE – Currently holds down role as vice-president

ATHLETES GIVING BACK – Organization which devotes time and effort to reaching out to the Quad City Community

HOSPICE VOLUNTEER

PROCTOR IN CHEMISTRY & ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

FOUR YEAR STARTER AT OFFENSIVE TACKLE

ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE IN CCIW – Four year selection: 2006 – 2007 – 2008 – 2009

STATISTICAL NOTES : In 2007 the Vikings finished the season fifth in NCAA Division III in team rushing with 299.7 yards per game…Augustana led CCIW in rushing three times while Westemeyer was a starter: 2006 (261.8 ypg)…2007 (299.7 ypg)…2008 (204.6 ypg)…Helped Vikings win 21 st CCIW title in school history in 2006…Augustana was 25-15 in Westemeyer’s career.

NOTEWORTHY : Carries 3.93 grade point average with major in bio-chemistry…Will graduate Summa Cum Laude in May of 2010.

PAST WINNERS OF THE GAGLIARDI TROPHY (as presented by the Jostens Company)

YEAR – PLAYER, POSITION, SCHOOL

2009 – BLAINE WESTEMEYER, OFFENSIVE TACKLE, AUGUSTANA

2008 – Greg Micheli, Quarterback, Mount Union

2007 – Justin Beaver, Running Back, Wisconsin-Whitewater

2006 – Josh Brehm, Quarterback, Alma

2005 – Brett Elliott, Quarterback, Linfield

2004 – Rocky Myers, Strong Safety, Wesley

2003 – Blake Elliott, Wide Receiver, St. John’s

2002 – Dan Pugh, Running Back, Mount Union

2001 – Chuck Moore, Running Back, Mount Union

2000 – Chad Johnson, Quarterback, Pacific Lutheran

1999 – Daniel Ragsdale, Quarterback, Redlands

1998 – Scott Hvistendahl, Wide Receiver/Punter Augsburg

1997 – Bill Borchert, Quarterback, Mount Union

1996 – Lon Erickson, Quarterback, Illinois Wesleyan

1995 – Chris Palmer, Wide Receiver, St. John’s

1994 – Carey Bender, Running Back, Coe

1993 – Jim Ballard, Quarterback, Mount Union