NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Elmhurst senior running back Scottie Williams became the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin’s (CCIW) third winner of the Gagliardi Trophy during a ceremony in Salem, Virginia on Wednesday.

Named for legendary St. John's football coach John Gagliardi, the Gagliardi Trophy has been awarded annually since the 1993 season. The trophy is presented by Jostens and the J-Club of St. John's University in Minnesota for excellence in football, academics and community service.

Williams joins 1996 winner Lon Erickson from Illinois Wesleyan and 2009 winner Blaine Westemeyer from Augustana as the only three from the CCIW to receive this recognition.

A senior from Darien, Illinois and Downers Grove South High School, Williams compiled 2,046 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in 2012, setting Elmhurst single-season records in the process. In addition, Williams became the CCIW’s second-leading career rusher with 3,507 yards in conference games from 2009-2012. His 5,203 total career rushing yards is the most in school history, beating out the previous mark by over 1,600 yards.

Williams was named the 2012 CCIW Art Keller Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player from Elmhurst to win the award since Steve Finch in 1981. He also helped lead the Bluejays to a share of their first College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) title since 1980 and also help the team advance to their first NCAA Division III Football playoff appearance in school history.

He has twice earned Academic All-Conference honors and was a first-team Capital One Academic All-American in 2011.

Williams has participated in President Barack Obama's Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge, a nationwide initiative to promote interfaith dialogue and cooperation. He also helped build homes as part of the College's Habitat for Humanity chapter.

Past Winners of the Gagliardi Trophy (as presented by Jostens Company)

1993 – Jim Ballard – QB (Mount Union)
1994 – Carey Bender – RB (Coe)
1995 – Chris Palmer – WR (St. John’s (Minn.))
1996 – Lon Erickson – QB (Illinois Wesleyan)
1997 – Bill Bochert – QB (Mount Union)
1998 – Scott Hivistendahl – WR/P (Augsburg)
1999 – Danny Ragsdale – QB (Redlands)
2000 – Chad Johnson – QB (Pacific Lutheran)
2001 – Chuck Moore – RB (Mount Union)
2002 – Dan Pugh – RB (Mount Union)
2003 – Blake Elliott – WR/KR (St. John’s (Minn.))
2004 – Rocky Myers – DB (Wesley)
2005 – Brett Elliott – QB (Linfield)
2006 – Josh Brehm – QB (Alma)
2007 – Justin Beaver – RB (Wisconsin-Whitewater)
2008 – Greg Micheli – QB (Mount Union)
2009 – Blaine Westemeyer – OL (Augustana)
2010 – Eric Watt – QB (Trine)
2011 – Michael Zweifel – WR (Dubuque)
2012 – Scottie Williams – RB (Elmhurst)

The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services eight member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2011-12 academic year, the CCIW honored 1,323 academic all-conference recipients, 16 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 1 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, 89 all-Americans and three national championship teams.