The Melberger Award is given annually to an outstanding U.S. college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 player in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

. The award is named after Clifford Melberger and is presented by Diversified Information Technologies, which Mr. Melberger leads as president.

The Melberger is one of two awards given to Division III football players, the other being the better-known Gagliardi Trophy

Gagliardi Trophy

The Gagliardi Trophy was first presented in 1993 to the Outstanding Division III college football player of the year by the Jostens Company and the J-Club of Saint John's University in Minnesota...

. The focus of the two awards has historically been slightly different. The Gagliardi factors in community service, academics, and athletics; the Melberger is, at least theoretically, presented to the best athlete. In recent years the Melberger has fallen into disfavor due to poor publicity and coordination by the firm which now sponsors the award. From the period 2002–2004, the award was given not to the nation's most outstanding Division III football players, but to the player in the local region who could attend (at their own cost) the awards ceremony in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...

. This resulted in the award being given to players who would often struggle to make an all-region team, let alone be named the best player in the country. Prior to 2002, the Melberger Award was funded and supported by the Wilkes-Barre Touchdown Club.

Winners

Year	Winner	School
1993	Jim Ballard Jim Ballard James "Jim" Ballard is a former Arena Football League quarterback for the Buffalo Destroyers in 2001 and the Indiana Firebirds in 2002 and 2003. Ballard also played in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts in 2002 and 1999 and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2000...	Mount Union Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio.Mount Union enrolls 2200 undergraduates. Approximately 50 percent are women and 50 percent are men, representing more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an active alumni base of...
1994	Carey Bender Carey Bender Carey Wayne Bender is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League. He attended Coe College, where he still holds numerous rushing records. He was given an opportunity to play in the NFL by Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy, a fellow Coe College graduate...	Coe Coe College Coe College is a private, four-year, liberal arts college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Founded in 1851, the institution is historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . Its current president is James R. Phifer. It is one of the smaller universities to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa...
1995	Craig Kusick, Jr. Craig Kusick, Jr. Craig Robert Kusick, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the Arena Football League. He played four seasons, two for the Milwaukee Mustangs and two for the Grand Rapids Rampage...	Wisconsin–La Crosse
1996	Bill Borchert	Mount Union Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio.Mount Union enrolls 2200 undergraduates. Approximately 50 percent are women and 50 percent are men, representing more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an active alumni base of...
1997	Bill Borchert (2)	Mount Union Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio.Mount Union enrolls 2200 undergraduates. Approximately 50 percent are women and 50 percent are men, representing more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an active alumni base of...
1998	Mike Burton	Trinity (TX) Trinity University (Texas) Trinity University is a private, independent, primarily undergraduate, university in San Antonio, Texas. Its campus is located in the Monte Vista Historic District and adjacent to Brackenridge Park....
1999	Scott Pingel	Westminster (MO) Westminster College, Missouri Westminster College is a private, selective, liberal arts institution in Fulton, Missouri, USA. It was founded by Presbyterians in 1849 as Fulton College and assumed the present name in 1851. The are located on the campus. The National Churchill Museum is a national historic site and includes...
2000	R. J. Bowers	Grove City Grove City College Grove City College is a Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania, about north of Pittsburgh. According to the College Bulletin, its stated three-fold mission is to provide an excellent education at an affordable price in a thoroughly Christian environment...
2001	Chuck Moore	Mount Union Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio.Mount Union enrolls 2200 undergraduates. Approximately 50 percent are women and 50 percent are men, representing more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an active alumni base of...
2002	Daniel Pincelli	Hartwick Hartwick College Hartwick College is a non-denominational, private, four-year liberal arts and sciences college located in Oneonta, New York, in the United States. The institution was founded as Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick, and is now known as Hartwick College...
2003	Brett Trichilo	Wilkes Wilkes University Wilkes University is a private, non-denominational American university located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It has over 2,200 undergraduates and over 2,200 graduate students...
2004	Brett Trichilo (2)	Wilkes Wilkes University Wilkes University is a private, non-denominational American university located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It has over 2,200 undergraduates and over 2,200 graduate students...
2005	Brett Elliott Brett Elliott Brett Elliott is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent of the Arena Football League.-College:Brett Elliott was the starter for the 2002 Utah Utes football team and began the season as the starter for the 2003 team before breaking his wrist in the second game of the season...	Linfield Linfield College Linfield College is an American private institution of higher learning located in McMinnville, Oregon, United States. As a four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college with a campus in Portland, Oregon, it also has an adult degree program located in eight communities throughout the...
2006	Chris Sharpe	Springfield Springfield College Springfield College is a private, coeducational university located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield College is most famous as the site where the sport of basketball was invented...
2007	Jason Boltus Jason Boltus Jason Boltus is a professional Canadian football quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. He was signed as a street free agent by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2009...	Hartwick Hartwick College Hartwick College is a non-denominational, private, four-year liberal arts and sciences college located in Oneonta, New York, in the United States. The institution was founded as Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick, and is now known as Hartwick College...
2008	Nate Kmic Nate Kmic Nate Kmic is an American football running back for the Lappeenranta Rajaritarit of the Finnish Maple League. Kmic played college football for Mount Union College Purple Raiders football team. Kmic graduated from Pike-Delta-York High School in Ohio...	Mount Union Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio.Mount Union enrolls 2200 undergraduates. Approximately 50 percent are women and 50 percent are men, representing more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an active alumni base of...
2009	Alex Tanney Alex Tanney Alex Tanney is an American football quarterback from . He is the starting quarterback for the Monmouth College Fighting Scots. Tanney missed the entire 2010-11 season after tearing his A-C joint in his right shoulder in the Midwest Conference season opener, home debut against Grinnell College, and...	Monmouth Monmouth College Monmouth College is a four-year coeducational private liberal arts college located in Monmouth, Illinois, United States.-History:Monmouth College was founded on April 18, 1853 by the Second Presbytery of Illinois, a frontier arm of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church...
2010	Ben McLaughlin	Louisiana Louisiana College Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...