Football

MIAC announces 2025 Football awards

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The 2025 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 2025 MIAC Football Awards.
 
Carleton senior quarterback Jack Curtis was selected as the MIAC Offensive Player of the Year, while Bethel senior safety Devin Williams was named MIAC Defensive Player of the Year. Saint John’s senior defensive lineman Zach Frank received the Mike Stam Award, presented to the top lineman in the conference, and Bethel first-year running back Taye Manns was named the MIAC Football Rookie of the Year. Bethel head coach Mike McElroy was honored by his peers with the John Gagliardi Coach of the Year Award.
 
Curtis (Sr. / Charlotte, N.C. / Ardrey Kell) was selected MIAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with 2,918 passing yards and 28 touchdowns in 2025. His yardage total is the third-most ever by a MIAC passer during the conference slate of contests. Curtis also tied the MIAC record with seven 300-yard passing performances in conference play this fall, while his 254 completions in conference games represent a new single-season MIAC high. Curtis finished his Carleton career as the program’s all-time leader in completions (824), completion percentage (67.8), passing yards (8,599), and passing touchdowns (83), with his career yardage and touchdown totals landing among the top 10 of all MIAC passers in the more than 100-year history of the conference. Curtis' achievements in 2025 were made all the more impressive against the backdrop of the September revelation that he was diagnosed with late-stage 2 "unfavorable" Hodgkin's lymphoma over the summer, and endured biweekly chemotherapy throughout the season. Curtis is the first Knight in program history to be named MIAC Offensive Player of the Year, and the first Carleton football player to receive one of the conference's top individual postseason honors since former All-American quarterback Tim Nielson was named MIAC MVP in 1988.
 
Williams (Sr. / Fridley, Minn. / Fridley) was voted MIAC Defensive Player of the Year after collecting 47 tackles and three interceptions in nine conference contests this fall. Williams led a Bethel defense that allowed fewer than seven points per game and a league-low 3.58 yards per play during MIAC contests. Williams is the first former MIAC Football Rookie of the Year recipient (2022) to go on to become a MIAC Offensive or Defensive Player of the Year. He is now the second consecutive Royal to be named MIAC Defensive Player of the Year, joining former teammate Matt Jung (2024).
 
Frank (Sr. / Lino Lakes, Minn. / Centennial) received Mike Stam Lineman of the Year honors after leading all MIAC pass rushers with ten sacks in conference play. Frank recorded at least a half-tackle for loss in every game this fall and sacked seven different MIAC quarterbacks in his nine conference games. Frank is the 11th Johnnie in program history 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.
 
Manns (Fy. / Duluth, Minn. / Denfield) was named MIAC Rookie of the Year after leading the conference with 12 rushing touchdowns in his debut season. Manns carried the ball 109 times for 701 yards and finished the MIAC slate with twice as many rushing scores as any other back in the conference. Manns is the second Royal to be named MIAC Rookie of the Year in football, joining teammate and inaugural recipient of the award in 2022, Devin Williams.
 
McElroy (2nd season) received the John Gagliardi Coach of the Year Award for the first time in his career after guiding the Royals to an undefeated regular season and MIAC championship in 2025. McElroy’s squad boasted the top scoring offense and scoring defense in the conference and became the first MIAC team in a quarter-century to win nine games in league play. McElroy is the second Bethel football coach to receive top honors in the MIAC, joining his predecessor, six-time honoree Steve Johnson. The MIAC Coach of the Year Award was renamed in honor of longtime Saint John’s head coach and College Football Hall of Famer, John 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-two players received All-MIAC accolades, with another 28 receiving honorable mention distinctions. Sixteen of the 62 All-MIAC honorees had also been recognized with All-Conference selections in 2023 or 2024. Bethel senior safety Devin Williams became the 23rd player in MIAC history to earn four All-Conference honors in football while Bethel senior offensive lineman Isaiah Ward and Saint John’s senior defensive lineman Zach Frank became three-time All-MIAC picks, a feat now accomplished by 225 MIAC football players all-time.
 
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.
 
| 2025 MIAC Football Awards |