Call it the final crowning achievement in a long list for one of the greatest athletes to ever wear the red and white of Central College.

Blaine Hawkins was recognized during the NCAA Honors Ceremony in San Antonio as part of the 2023 “Today’s Top 10 Award.” Initiated in 1973, the honor recognizes 10 former student-athletes from across all NCAA divisions for their successes on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Hawkins is only the third student-athlete from an Iowa college or university to ever receive the award. Central’s Emilie (Hanson) Brown was the first in 1996.

Hawkins, the 2021 Gagliardi Trophy winner as the outstanding football player in Division III, graduated with a 3.61 grade point average (4.0 scale) and a double major in economics and business management. The Ankeny native now serves as an associate in public finance investment banking for Piper Sandler Companies in Denver, Colorado. Hawkins set all-divisions NCAA records in 2021 for most touchdown passes in a season (63).