Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's University senior quarterback Aaron Syverson (Minnetonka, Minn.) was named one of the five finalists for the 2024 Gagliardi Trophy Presented by Stearns Bank, which is awarded to the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division III. The finalists were revealed by D3football.com during a live streaming broadcast on Thursday, Dec. 19.

The other four finalists are Cortland State (N.Y.) senior quarterback Zac Boyes, Illinois College senior quarterback Destin Chance, Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) graduate linebacker Robert Coury and North Central (Ill.) senior quarterback Luke Lehnen, the 2023 Gagliardi Trophy recipient.

The 2024 Gagliardi Trophy recipient will be revealed on D3football.com during the week of the NCAA Division III football national championship. In the lead up to the announcement of the winner, D3football.com will provide updates on specific dates and times of the announcement.

Nominations were submitted by colleges across the country, and the semifinalists were selected by the J-Club Board of Directors. The Gagliardi Trophy national-selection committee is comprised of 18 Division III coaches (three from each NCAA Region), six Division III administrators (one from each region), 12 regional notable voters (two from each region) and six national voters with Division III backgrounds. No J-Club members vote as part of the national-selection committee. 

An accounting major with a 3.70 GPA, Syverson was a National Football Foundation Campbell Trophy semifinalist for the second time this fall and is expected to earn his third College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and Academic All-MIAC distinction next month.

Syverson was named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America second team Dec. 3 and earned All-America second-team honors earlier today (Dec. 19) from the Associated Press. He was named the 2024 D3football.com Region 6 Offensive Player of the Year last week (Dec. 11) and was selected as the MIAC Offensive Player of the Year to go with his third All-MIAC honor last month.

He ended the regular season as the Division III leader in completion percentage (.765); second in completions per game (26.7), passing yards per game (355.9), passing touchdowns (43), points responsible for per game (26.4) and total offense (355.0 ypg.); fifth in passing efficiency (200.5); and ninth in yards per pass attempt (10.2). 

He finished 331 of 434 passing (.763) for 4,382 yards and 51 touchdowns (to four interceptions) in 12 games this season. Syverson passed for over 300 yards in 10 of the Johnnies' 12 games this fall, including four over 400, and for five or more touchdowns six times with eight games of four or more.

Syverson completed 77.1 percent (158-for-205) of his passes for 1,928 yards and 19 touchdowns (to two interceptions) in five games against nationally ranked teams this fall (then-No. 4/now No. 10 Wartburg; then-No. 24/now No. 21 Bethel, twice; No. 18 UW-La Crosse; and No. 6 Susquehanna).

He owns the program and MIAC records for pass attempts (1,418); pass completions (983), passing yards (12,888) and touchdown passes (147), as well as the SJU marks for completion percentage (.693), passing yards per game (314.3), total offense (12,961 yards) and 300-yard passing games (20). Syverson is third in SJU history in both passing efficiency (175.8) and quarterback wins as a starter (36-5 record).

Syverson played all eight conference games and led the MIAC in every passing statistic for the second-consecutive season: completions (213), attempts (286), completion percentage (.745), passing yards (2,953/369.1 ypg.), passing touchdowns (36) and pass-efficiency rating (199.95). He set MIAC records (conference games only) for passing yards per game (369.1), 300-yard passing games (7), consecutive 300-yard passing games (6) and 400-yard passing games (3).

Syverson played all eight conference games and led the MIAC in every passing statistic for the second-consecutive season: completions (213), attempts (286), completion percentage (.745), passing yards (2,953/369.1 ypg.), passing touchdowns (36) and pass-efficiency rating (199.95). He set MIAC records (conference games only) for passing yards per game (369.1), 300-yard passing games (7), consecutive 300-yard passing games (6) and 400-yard passing games (3). He broke the MIAC's single-season record with 37 passing touchdowns in 2023.

Off the field, Syverson was a member of SJU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2021-22 and is a four-year member of SJU Football's Leadership Council. He completed his fourth year raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as part of the SJU football team, which raised over $63,000 in 2023 and surpassed $60,000 this fall, as well as for Tackle Cancer. 

SJU (11-1, 8-0 MIAC) won its MIAC-record 37th conference championship and made its 33rd postseason appearance (29th in Division III) this fall. The 10-win season was the program's 26th.