# Walter Payton Award

The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors. The honor was first given 38 years ago in 1987 to the outstanding player in the division, but in 1995, eligibility was restricted to offensive players, as the Buck Buchanan Award for defensive players was inaugurated.
The award was named in honor of National Football League (NFL) legend Walter Payton, who starred at Jackson State University in the early 1970s.
Up until presentations for the 2014 season, the Payton and Buchanan Awards were awarded by The Sports Network. Since STATS LLC, now known as Stats Perform, acquired The Sports Network in February 2015, it has presented all of the major FCS awards.
The most recent winner of the award is Tommy Mellott, a quarterback from Montana State who earned the honor during the 2024 season.

## Winners

| Year | Winner | School | Position |
| 1987 | Kenny Gamble | Colgate | RB |
| 1988 | Dave Meggett | Towson State | RB |
| 1989 | John Friesz | Idaho | QB |
| 1990 | Walter Dean | Grambling | RB |
| 1991 | Jamie Martin | Weber State | QB |
| 1992 | Michael Payton | Marshall | QB |
| 1993 | Doug Nussmeier | Idaho | QB |
| 1994 | Steve McNair | Alcorn State | QB |
| 1995 | Dave Dickenson | Montana | QB |
| 1996 | Archie Amerson | Northern Arizona | RB |
| 1997 | Brian Finneran | Villanova | WR |
| 1998 | Jerry Azumah | New Hampshire | RB |
| 1999 | Adrian Peterson | Georgia Southern | RB |
| 2000 | Louis Ivory | Furman | RB |
| 2001 | Brian Westbrook | Villanova | RB |
| 2002 | Tony Romo | Eastern Illinois | QB |
| 2003 | Jamaal Branch | Colgate | RB |
| 2004 | Lang Campbell | William & Mary | QB |
| 2005 | Erik Meyer | Eastern Washington | QB |
| 2006 | Ricky Santos | New Hampshire | QB |
| 2007 | Jayson Foster | Georgia Southern | QB |
| 2008 | Armanti Edwards | Appalachian State | QB |
| 2009 | Armanti Edwards | Appalachian State | QB |
| 2010 | Jeremy Moses | Stephen F. Austin | QB |
| 2011 | Bo Levi Mitchell | Eastern Washington | QB |
| 2012 | Taylor Heinicke | Old Dominion | QB |
| 2013 | Jimmy Garoppolo | Eastern Illinois | QB |
| 2014 | John Robertson | Villanova | QB |
| 2015 | Cooper Kupp | Eastern Washington | WR |
| 2016 | Jeremiah Briscoe | Sam Houston State | QB |
| 2017 | Jeremiah Briscoe | Sam Houston State | QB |
| 2018 | Devlin Hodges | Samford | QB |
| 2019 | Trey Lance | North Dakota State | QB |
| 2020 | Cole Kelley | Southeastern Louisiana | QB |
| 2021 | Eric Barriere | Eastern Washington | QB |
| 2022 | Lindsey Scott Jr. | Incarnate Word | QB |
| 2023 | Mark Gronowski | South Dakota State | QB |
| 2024 | Tommy Mellott | Montana State | QB |

## Awards won by school

This is a list of the colleges and universities who have had a player win a Walter Payton Award. Among the many schools in the division, only nine have claimed more than one award, and only seven have had more than one player win the award. Eastern Washington has had four players win the award, Villanova has had three players win the award, and five have had two players win: Colgate, Georgia Southern, Idaho, New Hampshire, and Eastern Illinois. Two players have won the award twice, with both being the only players from their institutions to win. In 2009, Armanti Edwards from Appalachian State became the first to receive the award twice, followed in 2017 by Jeremiah Briscoe from Sam Houston State. In 2019, Trey Lance of North Dakota State was the first freshman to receive the award.
| School | Awards |
| Eastern Washington | 4 |
| Villanova | 3 |
| Appalachian State^ | 2 |
| Colgate | 2 |
| Eastern Illinois | 2 |
| Georgia Southern^ | 2 |
| Idaho | 2 |
| New Hampshire | 2 |
| Sam Houston^ | 2 |
| Alcorn State | 1 |
| Furman | 1 |
| Grambling | 1 |
| Incarnate Word | 1 |
| Marshall^ | 1 |
| Montana | 1 |
| Montana State | 1 |
| North Dakota State | 1 |
| Northern Arizona | 1 |
| North Dakota State | 1 |
| Old Dominion^ | 1 |
| Samford | 1 |
| South Dakota State | 1 |
| Southeastern Louisiana | 1 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 1 |
| Towson | 1 |
| Weber State | 1 |
| William & Mary | 1 |
    ^ Team is now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).