INDIANAPOLIS – After a conclusive vote from the league's faculty athletic representatives (FAR), Hillsdale's Joey Brenner was officially unveiled as the winner of the 2020-21 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award on Monday afternoon.
The Great Midwest Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year is traditionally presented on an annual basis for an individual deemed to have completed the most outstanding record in athletics, scholarship and leadership.
Brenner, a native of Port Clinton, Ohio, is a senior football student-athlete who graduated this spring with a 3.92 GPA in Biochemistry while earning departmental honors.
All told, Brenner was a four-year member of the Chargers football program, a three-time letterwinner, and two-year starter while seeing time on the field at long snapper, tight end and the H-back role.
Brenner thrived both on and off the field under head coach Keith Otterbein, who instantly knew that he had a special student-athlete on campus the moment he arrived.
"Joey has always been a very focused student," praised Otterbein. "He arrived here with the goal of getting into medical school and he's pursued that goal with a very deliberate and drive mindset."
With career aspirations of becoming a medical doctor officially fulfilled, Brenner is set to attend the University of Toledo Medical College this fall. He had a summer research fellowship at Michigan State University where he worked with Dr. Karen Liby to help develop potential drugs for the treatment of breast cancer.
Brenner came into college as a quarterback and made the position switch, showing adaptability and a willingness to embrace whatever role he could help the team in. He rapidly developed a litany of new skills while learning to view the game in a different way.
He embraced the lead role in Hillsdale's annual "Be The Match" drive to add potential donors to the bone marrow registry for the treatment of rare blood cancers and has been active in all other charitable endeavors by the team.
Brenner was a team study table leader and respected tutor/mentor for both football teammates and other athletes on campus for all four years of his education at Hillsdale. A stamp of Brenner's impact within the program is the impressive figure of 79 (of 103) student-athletes on the football team posting a 3.0 GPA or better in 2020-21.
Otterbein noted a special moment in his longstanding program when Brenner, right before graduation, left a personalized handwritten thank you note for a staff member on campus for what the positivity provided throughout his career.
"He's very conscious of everyone around him and making sure they've got his respect and gratitude for everything they do," Otterbein said. "When you look at what you want from a doctor, he's already got that compassion, empathy and humility that all the best ones have and I have no doubt he's going to do great things in the future."
Brenner represents the second Hillsdale College student-athlete tabbed for conference scholar-athlete of the year award honors after former softball/swimming student-athlete Victoria Addis won in 2019-20. He is also just the third football student-athlete to receive the high honor, joining Findlay's Andrew Alten (2017-18) and Malone's Austin Cary (2016-17).
Additional finalists for 2020-21 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year included Trevecca Nazarene's Alex Clouthier (baseball), Tiffin's Benedict Draghi (track and field), Malone's Clay Cooper (baseball), Kentucky Wesleyan's Devin Smith (baseball), Walsh's Drew Roberts (cross country/track and field), Ohio Dominican's Evan Ernst (football), Ohio Valley's Jamison Hunt (men's basketball), Lake Erie's Michael Barish (men's soccer), Findlay's Tim Stollings (swimming and diving) and Cedarville's Tommy Ansiel (track and field). Each member institution's FAR was permitted (1) male and (1) female nominee to put on the voting ballot for the most recently completed academic year.