# Rimington Trophy

The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982.
A member of the National College Football Awards Association, the Rimington Trophy serves as a fundraiser for the Boomer Esiason Foundation's fight against cystic fibrosis. The sculptor of the Dave Rimington Trophy is Marc Mellon, also the sculptor of the NBA MVP Trophy.

## Selection process

The winner of the Rimington Trophy is selected by determining the consensus All-American center pick from four existing All-America teams. While more than a dozen All-America football teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these four prestigious teams to determine a winner:
* American Football Coaches Association
* Walter Camp Foundation
* The Sporting News
* Football Writers Association of America
Because the selectors of these four All-America teams can place centers in a "mix" of offensive linemen that includes guards and tackles, their 11-man first teams can often have two centers. The Rimington Trophy committee's policy is to count all players who play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, though they may be listed as guards or tackles on the four All-American teams. The center with the most first-team votes is determined to be the winner. If a tie occurs with first-team votes, then the center with most second-team votes wins. If a tie still exists, the winner is determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy committee.

## Winners

| Year | Player | School |
| 2000 | Dominic Raiola | Nebraska |
| 2001 | LeCharles Bentley | Ohio State |
| 2002 | Brett Romberg | Miami (FL) |
| 2003 | Jake Grove | Virginia Tech |
| 2004 | David Baas | Michigan |
| 2004 | Ben Wilkerson | LSU |
| 2005 | Greg Eslinger | Minnesota |
| 2006 | Dan Mozes | West Virginia |
| 2007 | Jonathan Luigs | Arkansas |
| 2008 | A. Q. Shipley | Penn State |
| 2009 | Maurkice Pouncey | Florida |
| 2010 | Jake Kirkpatrick | TCU |
| 2011 | David Molk | Michigan (2) |
| 2012 | Barrett Jones | Alabama |
| 2013 | Bryan Stork | Florida State |
| 2014 | Reese Dismukes | Auburn |
| 2015 | Ryan Kelly | Alabama (2) |
| 2016 | Pat Elflein | Ohio State (2) |
| 2017 | Billy Price | Ohio State (3) |
| 2018 | Garrett Bradbury | NC State |
| 2019 | Tyler Biadasz | Wisconsin |
| 2020 | Landon Dickerson | Alabama (3) |
| 2021 | Tyler Linderbaum | Iowa |
| 2022 | Olusegun Oluwatimi | Michigan (3) |
| 2023 | Jackson Powers-Johnson | Oregon |
| 2024 | Seth McLaughlin | Ohio State (4) |

## Gerald R. Ford Legends Award

Since 2005, the Rimington Trophy also recognizes legendary centers from the past by presenting the President Gerald R. Ford Legendary Center Award, which is named after Gerald Ford. The award is presented annually to a former collegiate or professional center who was either a legend on or off the field by making extraordinary contributions through business, civic, or philanthropic endeavors.

### Winners

| Season | Player | School | Tenure |
| 2005 | Gerald Ford | Michigan | 1932–1934 |
| 2006 | Jim Otto | Miami (FL) | 1957–1959 |
| 2007 | Alex Kroll | Yale Rutgers | 1956 1960–1961 |
| 2008 | Bill Curry | Georgia Tech | 1961–1964 |
| 2009 | Jim Ritcher | NC State | 1976–1979 |
| 2010 | Dwight Stephenson | Alabama | 1976–1979 |
| 2011 | Mick Tingelhoff | Nebraska | 1958–1961 |
| 2012 | Jay Hilgenberg | Iowa | 1977–1980 |
| 2013 | Dermontti Dawson | Kentucky | 1984–1987 |
| 2014 | Courtney Hall | Rice | 1985–1988 |
| 2015 | Jeff Saturday | North Carolina | 1993–1997 |
| 2016 | Carl Mauck | Southern Illinois | 1965–1968 |
| 2017 | Joe Montgomery | William & Mary | 1971–1974 |
| 2018 | Robert Caslen | Army | 1972–1975 |
| 2019 | Dominic Raiola | Nebraska | 1997–2000 |
| 2020 | No winner | No winner | No winner |
| 2021 | Aaron Graham | Nebraska | 1991–1995 |
| 2022 | Jake Grove | Virginia Tech | 2000–2003 |
| 2023 | Kevin Mawae | LSU | 1989–1993 |
| 2024 | Shaun O'Hara | Rutgers | 2005–2009 |
Sources: