Football

MIAC announces 2024 Football awards

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The 2024 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) football regular season concluded earlier this month, and on Monday, the conference recognized the top performers from another outstanding campaign with the announcement of the 2024 MIAC Football Awards.
 
Saint John’s senior quarterback Aaron Syverson was selected as the MIAC Offensive Player of the Year, while Bethel sophomore safety Matt Jung was named MIAC Defensive Player of the Year. Bethel senior defensive lineman Caden DeWall received the Mike Stam Award, presented to the top lineman in the conference, and Concordia first-year offensive lineman Jake Long was named the MIAC Football Rookie of the Year. Saint John’s head coach Gary Fasching was honored by his peers with the John Gagliardi Coach of the Year Award.
 
Syverson (Sr. | Minnetonka, Minn.) was selected MIAC Offensive Player of the Year after setting single-season conference records for passing touchdowns (36), completion percentage (74.5), and 300-yard passing games (7) in MIAC games. Syverson also matched the conference record for 400-yard games in a season (3) and finished with the second-most passing yards against MIAC opponents in a season in recorded conference history. Syverson became the MIAC's career passing yardage and touchdowns leader in 2024. He is the first Johnnie to receive an individual MIAC postseason football honor since Michael Wozniak was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
 
Jung (So. | Neenah, Wis.) was voted MIAC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with four interceptions in MIAC games and returning three of them for touchdowns. Jung also totaled 62 tackles and 2.5 sacks in league contests. He is the first Royal in program history to be named MIAC Defensive Player of the Year.
 
DeWall (Sr. | Becker, Minn.) received Mike Stam Lineman of the Year honors after leading the conference with 13 sacks in MIAC games. DeWall finished the MIAC schedule with 37 tackles and a conference-best three fumble recoveries. He is the third Royal in program history - and the first since 2006 - to receive the Mike Stam Award. The Mike Stam Award was created in 1990 in memory of the former Carleton All-MIAC defensive lineman who passed away in a snowmobiling accident after his junior season.
 
Long (Fy. | Westfield, Wis. | Adams-Friendship) was named MIAC Rookie of the Year after starting every game for the Cobbers in his debut season. The first-year guard helped Concordia average 140.4 rushing yards per game and 8.8 yards per pass attempt in 2024. Long is the second consecutive Cobber to receive MIAC Rookie of the Year honors, joining fellow Concordia offensive lineman and 2023 recipient Angel Reyes.
 
Fasching (12th season) received the John Gagliardi Coach of the Year Award for the seventh time in his career after guiding the Johnnies to the program’s 37th MIAC title and ninth trip to the NCAA Playoffs in the last ten seasons. A former MIAC student-athlete himself, Fasching was a three-year starter at linebacker for Gagliardi's Johnnies before spending 17 years as an assistant on the legendary coach's SJU staff. The MIAC Coach of the Year Award was renamed in honor of Gagliardi - college football's all-time wins leader - in 2013.
 
In addition to individual honors, the MIAC also announced All-Conference and honorable mention selections. Sixty players received All-MIAC accolades, with another 29 receiving honorable mention distinctions. Thirty-one of the 60 All-MIAC honorees had also been recognized with All-Conference selections in 2022 or 2023.
 
Bethel graduate safety Nate Farm and Gustavus senior linebacker Carson DeKam became the 12th and 13th players in recorded MIAC history to earn four All-Conference honors in football. Eleven more players - Bethel wide receivers Joey Kidder and Micah Niewald, linebacker Jacob Holmen, and defensive back Devin Williams; Concordia defensive lineman Collin Thompson and kicker/punter Damien Silus; Gustavus defensive lineman Javier Gratacos; Saint John’s quarterback Aaron Syverson, linebacker Cooper Yaggie, and kicker Conor Murphy; and St. Olaf tight end Derek Hansen - received their third All-MIAC nod, a feat achieved by 135 players in recorded conference history.
 
All MIAC awards were nominated by and voted on by MIAC head football coaches. Any nominated player who was not selected All-Conference but still received votes from at least three coaches was named honorable mention. Only conference statistics are considered for MIAC awards.
 
| 2024 MIAC Football Awards |