WAVERLY, Iowa—Wartburg's
Owen Grover was named the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Division III Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year for 2023-24, the national organization announced today.
Grover is the first student-athlete in Wartburg Athletics history to receive this honor. He earned both the National Defensive Player of the Year honor from D3football.com and was the CSC Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for DIII football.
"I am beyond grateful to be recognized for this award amongst so many incredible student-athletes," said Grover. "Division III has offered me amazing experiences both on the field and in the classroom and I could not be more appreciative for the experience that I had at Wartburg College. Any award like this is not possible without the brilliant coaches, professors, family, teammates, and other faculty that I have been so blessed to be able to have as a part of my life."
"Owen was one of the hardest working kids on our team and his attention to detail was unmatched," said head football coach
Chris Winter. "I have great respect for his ability to lead by example and be a great teammate to everyone associated with our program. He was a two-time captain of our football team and member of our football leadership council, which are honors voted on by his teammates. He has been committed to every aspect of our football program for the past five years, while still balancing the grueling academic schedule that is involved with being a pre-med student at Wartburg College. This rare combination of hard work, attention to detail, and advanced time management skills afforded Owen a well-rounded college experience along with his tremendous success as a student-athlete. He was a two-time All-American linebacker, the 2023 National Defensive Player of the Year in Division III football, 2023 Cliff Harris Award winner for Division III Football, and a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy all while maintaining a 3.99 GPA in biology/pre-med and still being involved in our campus community, as well as serving the community of Waverly, through volunteer activities. He is the most impressive student-athlete I have been around in my 20+ years at Wartburg College and there are no words to express how proud I am to call him a Knight!"
With Caitlin Clark from the University of Iowa being the DI honoree, that makes two of the four total honorees hailing from the State of Iowa.
Grover's accomplishments:
School single-season/career statistical achievements/awards/honors: First-team AFCA All-American ... repeated as D3football.com Regional Player of the Year ...two-time Conference defensive MVP ... three-time All-Conference honoree
National and conference achievements/awards/honors: Became career leader in total and solo tackles ... ranks in top 10 assisted tackles, TFLs, sacks, and fumbles forced ... Wartburg finished regular season undefeated for second-straight year ... won second-straight conference championship ... Wartburg hosted first four rounds of NCAA Playoffs for the first time in school history ... D3football.com National Defensive Player of the Year … first national player of the year in program history … Cliff Harris Award winner … first Cliff Harris Award winner in program history
Academic activities and achievements/awards/honors: 2023 finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy (academic Heisman) ... 2023 Gagliardi Trophy finalist ... 2022 CSC Academic All-American and All-District ... four-time CSC Academic All-District® (2020-21, 2021, 2022, 2023) ... four-time Academic All-Conference ... two-time First-team CSC Academic All-America® (2022 and 2023 )… NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient … will attend med school at the University of Iowa this fall
Community service activities: Dance Marathon, Emergency Department Volunteer (Waverly Health Center & another hospital in Waterloo, Iowa) ... Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) ... Unified Sports Day (annual Special Olympics event with Wartburg Athletics) ... team tutor
