Division III Player Of The Year Finalist
MOORHEAD, Minn. (3/02/16)—Another day another major award for senior Jordan Bolger.
A day after being named the MIAC Most Valuable Player, Bolger was named one of the 10 finalists for the Jostens NCAA Division III Player of the Year.
Bolger becomes the first player in the history of the program to be a finalist for the top honor in the nation and only the sixth player in MIAC history to receive the finalist award.
The Jostens Trophy is a national award created by the Salem Rotary Club to honor the most outstanding men's and women's NCAA Division III basketball players of the year. The award takes into account three vital parts: basketball ability, academic prowess, and community service. The trophy models the Rotary International motto of "Service Above Self" by recognizing those who truly fit the ideal of the well-rounded NCAA Division III student-athlete. This year's class marks the 19th year the award has been presented with the inaugural trophies bestowed in 1998.
Bolger, who was a three-time All-MIAC honoree, earned his finalist status by averaging 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and finished in the top 10 in the MIAC in an amazing 13 different statistical categories. He scored at least 10 points in 23 of the 24 games he played during the season and put up at least 20 points on 13 occasions.
Off the court Bolger is the President of the Concordia Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). The group coordinates several volunteer activities in the community throughout the year. The Concordia SAAC group was awarded the Outstanding Area Organization Award from the Special Olympics of North Dakota after volunteering countless hours with the Special Olympians.
In addition, Bolger also helped out with the InSports Foundation and their spring sports day to give area youth a chance to participate in new sports at no cost.
In the classroom Bolger has a 3.64 grade point average while majoring in Biology and Mathematics. He was a part of a research team through the Biology and Environmental Studies departments that studied an invasive water weed species.
Bolger was recently accepted into Dental School at the University of Minnesota.
During the basketball season Bolger passed a pair of milestones and became only the third player in school history to score at least 1,000 points and collect 500 rebounds in a career. Bolger joined the elite 1000/500 club when he scored his 1,000th point on Jan. 9 against St. John's. He surpassed the 500-rebound mark on Dec. 2 vs. St. Thomas.
Bolger finished his career fifth on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,268 points. He also came away with 679 rebounds which is second on the school's all-time chart. Bolger also recorded 17 double-doubles throughout the course of his storied career.
Ballots from the national selection committee are due by March 9 with the winning schools expected to be notified by March 11. The awards presentation is scheduled for Thursday, March 17 at the Salem Civic Center in conjunction with the NCAA Division III men's basketball semifinals and championship in Salem, Va., on March 18-19.
Men's Division III Player of the Year Finalists
Trey Bardsley, Nebraska Wesleyan University
DJ Beckman, Alma College
Dillon Bender, Mount Aloysius College
Jordan Bolger, Concordia-Moorhead College
Tim Daniel, Greenville College
Ben Gardner, Hope College
Lucas Hausman, Bowdoin College
Jared Holmquist, Trine University
Jamie Nikitas, Lawrence University
George Valle, Whitworth University