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NEW YORK – Yale senior quarterback
Kurt Rawlings and Dartmouth senior linebacker
Jack Traynor were announced as the Ivy League’s 2019 Football Players of the Year and Asa S. Bushnell Cup recipients in front of a capacity crowd at the Mercury Ballroom of the New York Hilton Midtown on Monday, Dec. 9.
Rawlings was named Offensive Player of the Year—the fifth-straight quarterback to reap the honor—while Traynor took home Defensive Player of the Year honors at a press conference and reception co-hosted by the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame (NFF), presented by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and broadcast live on ESPN+.
Rawlings is the 11th Bushnell Cup winner from Yale and the first Bulldog quarterback to be honored since Kelly Ryan in 1987. Yale’s other most recent Bushnell Cup recipients are running back
Tyler Varga in 2014 and linebacker
Matthew Oplinger in 2017.
Traynor is the ninth Big Green player to be honored with the Bushnell Cup—and the third over the past four seasons from the defensive unit, joining 2016 selection linebacker
Folarin Orimolade and 2018 honoree defensive back Isiah Swann.
A three-time All-Ivy pick—including unanimous First Team honors in 2019—Rawlings rewrote the Yale record book during his senior campaign, setting career marks for passing attempts (926), completions (583), completion percentage (.630), passing touchdowns (59), yards of total offense (8,324), total touchdowns (71), passing yards (7,638) and passing efficiency (149.17). The quarterback was a two-time All-Ivy Honorable Mention selection in 2017 and 2018. Rawlings threw for a League-best 3,002 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also accumulated 314 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. The Bel Air, Md., product, who ranked third in the FCS with 21.2 points responsible for per game and fourth with 331.6 yards of total offense per game, led a Yale offensive unit that ranked sixth in the FCS with 38.7 points per game.
In the classroom, Rawlings owns a 3.37 GPA as a global affairs major. He spent the summer of 2019 interning with the Yale Investments Office, which manages the university’s endowment, and is also involved in Team Impact—especially with Bulldog football team member Dante Chiapetta—and Yale’s annual Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive.
A three-time unanimous First Team All-Ivy honoree, Traynor led Dartmouth and ranked third in the Ivy League with 75 tackles. The Lake Forest, Ill., native also added 4.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, a League-high two fumble recoveries and two interceptions—including a pick-six—during his senior campaign. The linebacker propelled a Dartmouth defensive unit that allowed just 12.40 points per game—second in the FCS for the second-straight season—and just 320.9 yards per game—14th in the FCS. Traynor, one of 13 two-time captains in Big Green program history, finishes his career with 270 tackles, 11th on the team’s all-time charts.
Off the field, Traynor is an engineering major that claims a 3.68 GPA. He is a two-time Academic All-Ivy and FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star selection and has already been named a Campbell Trophy semifinalist and a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree in 2019. He is involved in both The Prouty—a two-day athletic event that benefits the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC)—and the CHaD HERO—a variety of one-day running, hiking and biking events that benefit the CHaD Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
Rawlings and Traynor were selected as Bushnell Cup finalists, alongside Brown junior quarterback
EJ Perryand Princeton junior linebacker
Jeremiah Tyler in a vote by the League’s eight head coaches.
Each of this year’s four Asa S. Bushnell Cup finalists were First Team All-Ivy selections, with Rawlings, Traynor and Tyler earning unanimous nods. Rawlings is 1-of-26 finalists for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the FCS.
Tuesday evening the NFF will stage its 62nd Annual Awards Dinner presented by ETT, also at the New York Hilton Midtown. As the culmination of the regular season, the event provides the stage for the induction of the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class presented by ETT; the presentation of the 2018 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards presented by Fidelity Investments; and the bestowing of the 30th NFF William V. Campbell Trophy® presented by Mazda, named for the former Columbia player and head coach, to the nation's top football scholar-athlete. The event will be
broadcast live on ESPN3, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Among the honorees will be Cornell senior defensive back
Jelani Taylor, who is 1-of-12 finalists for the NFF William V. Campbell Trophy®.
ASA S. BUSHNELL CUP HISTORY
Presented annually since 1970, The Asa S. Bushnell Cup honors its namesake, a 1921 Princeton alumnus and the commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference from 1938 to 1970. The Bushnell Cup is awarded by a vote of the Ivy League's eight head football coaches to the players who display outstanding qualities of leadership, competitive spirit, contribution to the team and accomplishments on the field.
From 1970 to 2010, the Bushnell Cup recognized an Ivy League Player of the Year (or co-Players of the Year if there was a tie in voting). Beginning with the 2010 season, the award was presented as part of the festivities surrounding the NFF Annual Awards Dinner with four finalists named a week prior to the presentation. Beginning with the 2011 season, the award began recognizing Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, honoring each as a recipient of the Bushnell Cup. Two offensive finalists and two defensive finalists are named, with the Players of the Year unveiled at the presentation.
All-Time Recipient List
1970 - Jim Chasey, QB, Dartmouth & Ed Marinaro, RB, Cornell
1971 - Ed Marinaro, RB, Cornell
1972 - Dick Jauron, RB, Yale
1973 - Jim Stoeckel, QB, Harvard
1974 - Walt Snickenberger, RB, Princeton
1975 - Doug Jackson, RB, Columbia
1976 - John Pagliaro, RB, Yale
1977 - John Pagliaro, RB, Yale
1978 - Buddy Teevens, QB, Dartmouth
1979 - Tim Tumpane, LB, Yale
1980 - Kevin Czinger, MG, Yale
1981 - Rich Diana, RB, Yale
1982 - John Witkowski, QB, Columbia
1983 - Derrick Harmon, RB, Cornell
1984 - Tim Chambers, DB, Penn
1985 - Tom Gilmore, DT, Penn
1986 - Rich Comizio, RB, Penn
1987 - Kelly Ryan, QB, Yale
1988 - Jason Garrett, QB, Princeton
1989 - Judd Garrett, RB, Princeton
1990 - Shon Page, RB, Dartmouth
1991 - Al Rosier, RB, Dartmouth
1992 - Jay Fiedler, QB, Dartmouth
1993 - Keith Elias, RB, Princeton
1994 - Pat Goodwillie, LB, Penn
1995 - Dave Patterson, LB, Princeton
1996 - Chad Levitt, RB, Cornell
1997 - Sean Morey, WR, Brown
1998 - Jim Finn, RB, Penn
1999 - James Perry, QB, Brown
2000 - Gavin Hoffman, QB, Penn
2001 - Carl Morris, WR, Harvard
2002 - Carl Morris, WR, Harvard
2003 - Mike Mitchell, QB, Penn
2004 - Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Harvard
2005 - Nick Hartigan, RB, Brown
2006 - Jeff Terrell, QB, Princeton
2007 - Mike McLeod, RB, Yale
2008 - Chris Pizzotti, QB, Harvard
2009 - Buddy Farnham, WR, Brown & Jake Lewko, LB, Penn
2010 - Gino Gordon, RB, Harvard & Nick Schwieger, RB, Dartmouth
2011 - Offensive Player of the Year: Jeff Mathews, QB, Cornell
Defensive Player of the Year: Josue Ortiz, DT, Harvard
2012 - Offensive Player of the Year: Colton Chapple, QB, Harvard
Defensive Player of the Year: Mike Catapano, DL, Princeton
2013 - Offensive Player of the Year: Quinn Epperly, QB, Princeton
Defensive Player of the Year: Zack Hodges, DE, Harvard
2014 - Offensive Player of the Year: Tyler Varga, RB, Yale
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Zack Hodges, DE, Harvard & Mike Zeuli, LB, Princeton
2015 - Offensive Player of the Year: Scott Hosch, QB, Harvard
Defensive Player of the Year: Tyler Drake, LB, Penn
2016 - Offensive Player of the Year: John Lovett, QB, Princeton
Defensive Player of the Year: Folarin Orimolade, LB, Dartmouth
2017 - Offensive Player of the Year: Chad Kanoff, QB, Princeton
Defensive Player of the Year: Matthew Oplinger, LB, Yale
2018 - Offensive Player of the Year: John Lovett, QB, Princeton
Defensive Player of the Year: Isiah Swann, DB, Dartmouth
2019 – Offensive Player of the Year: Kurt Rawlings, QB, Yale
Defensive Player of the Year: Jack Traynor, LB, Dartmouth
Player of the Year Finalists
2010 - Trey Peacock, WR, Princeton & Billy Ragone, QB, Penn
2011 - Erik Rask, LB, Penn &Nick Schwieger, RB, Dartmouth
2012 - Jeff Mathews, QB, Cornell & AJ Cruz, DB, Brown
2013 - John Spooney, RB, Brown & Caraun Reid, DL, Princeton
2014 - Dalyn Williams, QB, Dartmouth
2015 - Will McNamara, LB, Dartmouth & Justin Watson, WR, Penn
2016 - Kurt Holuba, DL, Princeton & Justin Watson, WR, Penn
2017 - Richard Jarvis, DL, Brown, Nick Miller, LB, Penn & Justin Watson, WR, Penn
2018 - Stone Hart, DL, Harvard & Jesper Horsted, WR, Princeton
2019 - EJ Perry, QB, Brown & Jeremiah Tyler, LB, Princeton
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses
The Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization that hosts America’s New Year Celebration® with the Rose Parade® presented by Honda, the Rose Bowl Game® presented by Northwestern Mutual and a variety of accompanying events. 935 volunteer members of the association will drive the success of 131st Rose Parade themed “The Power of Hope,” on Wednesday, January 1, 2020, followed by the 106th Rose Bowl Game. For more information, visit www.tournamentofroses.com.
The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include Football Matters®, the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Delta Air Lines, ETT, Fidelity Investments, Goodyear, Herff Jones, Mazda, the New York Athletic Club, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the Sports Business Journal, Under Armour and VICIS. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.