Botner named FCS Scholar-Athlete of the Year
12/9/2025 8:26:00 AM | Football
The tail end of the college football calendar is when the postseason accolades start pouring in. All-conference, all-district, All-American – they're all meaningful, all important, and all impactful in their own way. They are, for the most part, a small token or a tip of the hat, to the on-field accomplishments that years of work behind the scenes bring about.
But there are some awards that are just a bit more important.
Some that, not only acknowledge the blood, sweat, and tears behind closed doors that allow every player to even see one snap of college football, but acknowledge everything else that goes into being a student-athlete. Awards that acknowledge the pursuit of great things off the field.
Awards that, for all its recent changes and foibles, still sit at the heart of college football – particularly at the FCS level.
Awards that recognize the fact that the student-athlete experience can create better citizens of this world. People who will leave the football field and go on to do great things with their lives.
The Doris Robinson FCS Scholar-Athlete of the Year is just that award, and Montana starting center Dillon Botner of Whitefish is just the man for it.
On Tuesday, Stats Perform named Botner its winner of the 2025 Doris Robinson Award that honors the FCS student-athlete who best personifies the ideals of excellence on the field, in the classroom, and across the community. An award that recognizes the great potential in our shared future leaders.
It's named for Robinson, a former schoolteacher and the wife of legendary Grambling State University coach Eddie Robinson, who championed the values represented by the award of leadership and integrity. During his career at Montanan, Botner has lived up to those values and more.
Now a graduate student in his final season at UM, Botner has overcome adversity and injury to earn a starting job at center on one of the greatest offenses in program history. He's done it all while completing three degrees, a minor (in physics, no less), and a professional certificate with an eye toward becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
He has mastered the art of balancing student-athlete demands on a playoff-caliber team while maintaining that same standard of excellence off the field.
He's also logged nearly 50 hours of community service in the precious few spare moments he has in his life, with volunteer hours put in at everything from high school sporting events to neighborhood leaf raking, to helping lead the charge on Griz football's most high-profile community service activity.
"Dillon Botner personifies what's best about college football. He's a terrific player and teammate, and he's done it all while completing three degrees in the sciences with straight A's. Then when he was granted another year of eligibility, he came back to complete a minor and physics. Immediately after the season ends he is going to attend medical school," said head coach Bobby Hauck.
"He has also been a major part of our participation in the National Marrow Donor Program, through which we have saved nine lives, and been active volunteering in the Missoula community. He is an amazing example of what a student athlete can be."
Botner was selected from 13 Doris Robinson Award finalists – one from each conference involved in the Division I subdivision. He's the fourth finalist from Montana, joining Derek Crittenden (2015), Reggie Tillman (2018) and Dante Olson (2019), and will be honored at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.
His academic achievements separate him from most student-athletes. He's earned three Bachelor of Science degrees with Magna Cum Laude honors in each, specializing in Biochemistry (Health Professions), Biology (Human Biological Sciences) and Neuroscience (Cellular and Molecular), as well as a minor in Physics.
Botner will graduate on Friday afternoon with a certificate in Business Entrepreneurship as well, and has maintained a 3.70 GPA throughout. He's striving to qualify for medical school, where he will pursue a career as an orthopedic surgeon.
He's earned him Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors in back-to-back years. He was a semifinalist for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy after being named to the NFF New Hampshire Honors Society last spring.
Botner's commitment to community service mirrors his success in the classroom. He's volunteered across campus and in the Missoula community, supporting youth development, health initiatives, civic programs, environmental conservation and campus life.
He's worked at high school sporting events and youth football camps, and seeded a burn scar on Mt. Sentinel, worked Earth Day trail cleanups, Neighbors Helping Neighbors leaf raking, and the Missoula Food Bank Sack Lunch program.
On the field, Botner has been a leader in the Montana locker room since 2019. He's a four-time letterman, overcoming adversity when he missed the entire 2023 season due to an injury suffered in fall camp. He returned last season and received the Tony Barbour Award, given to the team's most inspirational player.
Botner had been a part of teams with a combined 64-20 record. This season, he's the Grizzlies' starting center on an offense that has scored more touchdowns and more points than any other team in program history.
Botner and the Grizzlies continue their quest to reach the FCS National Championship this week when they host South Dakota in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
2025 Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
Dillon Botner, Montana, OL, Grad (Big Sky Conference)
James Conway, Fordham, LB, Gr. (Patriot League)
Erick Hunter, Morgan State, LB, R-Sr. (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Tremel Jones, Tennessee Tech, WR, R-Sr. (OVC-Big South Football Association)
Chandler Kirton, Austin Peay, OL, Grad (United Athletic Conference)
Logan Kopp, North Dakota State, LB, Sr. (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Chris Leonardo, Marist, OT, R-Jr. (Pioneer Football League)
JaCobian Morgan, Jackson State, QB, Grad (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Micah Nelson, Western Carolina, DE, R-Sr. (Southern Conference)
Liam O'Brien, Penn, QB, Sr. (Ivy League)
Derek Robertson, Monmouth, QB, Grad (CAA Football)
Shawn Solomon Jr., Duquesne, RB, Jr. (NEC Football)
Ky Thomas, Stephen F. Austin, DE, Grad (Southland Conference)
But there are some awards that are just a bit more important.
Some that, not only acknowledge the blood, sweat, and tears behind closed doors that allow every player to even see one snap of college football, but acknowledge everything else that goes into being a student-athlete. Awards that acknowledge the pursuit of great things off the field.
Awards that, for all its recent changes and foibles, still sit at the heart of college football – particularly at the FCS level.
Awards that recognize the fact that the student-athlete experience can create better citizens of this world. People who will leave the football field and go on to do great things with their lives.
The Doris Robinson FCS Scholar-Athlete of the Year is just that award, and Montana starting center Dillon Botner of Whitefish is just the man for it.
On Tuesday, Stats Perform named Botner its winner of the 2025 Doris Robinson Award that honors the FCS student-athlete who best personifies the ideals of excellence on the field, in the classroom, and across the community. An award that recognizes the great potential in our shared future leaders.
It's named for Robinson, a former schoolteacher and the wife of legendary Grambling State University coach Eddie Robinson, who championed the values represented by the award of leadership and integrity. During his career at Montanan, Botner has lived up to those values and more.
Now a graduate student in his final season at UM, Botner has overcome adversity and injury to earn a starting job at center on one of the greatest offenses in program history. He's done it all while completing three degrees, a minor (in physics, no less), and a professional certificate with an eye toward becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
He has mastered the art of balancing student-athlete demands on a playoff-caliber team while maintaining that same standard of excellence off the field.
He's also logged nearly 50 hours of community service in the precious few spare moments he has in his life, with volunteer hours put in at everything from high school sporting events to neighborhood leaf raking, to helping lead the charge on Griz football's most high-profile community service activity.
"Dillon Botner personifies what's best about college football. He's a terrific player and teammate, and he's done it all while completing three degrees in the sciences with straight A's. Then when he was granted another year of eligibility, he came back to complete a minor and physics. Immediately after the season ends he is going to attend medical school," said head coach Bobby Hauck.
"He has also been a major part of our participation in the National Marrow Donor Program, through which we have saved nine lives, and been active volunteering in the Missoula community. He is an amazing example of what a student athlete can be."
Botner was selected from 13 Doris Robinson Award finalists – one from each conference involved in the Division I subdivision. He's the fourth finalist from Montana, joining Derek Crittenden (2015), Reggie Tillman (2018) and Dante Olson (2019), and will be honored at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.
His academic achievements separate him from most student-athletes. He's earned three Bachelor of Science degrees with Magna Cum Laude honors in each, specializing in Biochemistry (Health Professions), Biology (Human Biological Sciences) and Neuroscience (Cellular and Molecular), as well as a minor in Physics.
Botner will graduate on Friday afternoon with a certificate in Business Entrepreneurship as well, and has maintained a 3.70 GPA throughout. He's striving to qualify for medical school, where he will pursue a career as an orthopedic surgeon.
He's earned him Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors in back-to-back years. He was a semifinalist for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy after being named to the NFF New Hampshire Honors Society last spring.
Botner's commitment to community service mirrors his success in the classroom. He's volunteered across campus and in the Missoula community, supporting youth development, health initiatives, civic programs, environmental conservation and campus life.
He's worked at high school sporting events and youth football camps, and seeded a burn scar on Mt. Sentinel, worked Earth Day trail cleanups, Neighbors Helping Neighbors leaf raking, and the Missoula Food Bank Sack Lunch program.
On the field, Botner has been a leader in the Montana locker room since 2019. He's a four-time letterman, overcoming adversity when he missed the entire 2023 season due to an injury suffered in fall camp. He returned last season and received the Tony Barbour Award, given to the team's most inspirational player.
Botner had been a part of teams with a combined 64-20 record. This season, he's the Grizzlies' starting center on an offense that has scored more touchdowns and more points than any other team in program history.
Botner and the Grizzlies continue their quest to reach the FCS National Championship this week when they host South Dakota in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
2025 Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
Dillon Botner, Montana, OL, Grad (Big Sky Conference)
James Conway, Fordham, LB, Gr. (Patriot League)
Erick Hunter, Morgan State, LB, R-Sr. (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Tremel Jones, Tennessee Tech, WR, R-Sr. (OVC-Big South Football Association)
Chandler Kirton, Austin Peay, OL, Grad (United Athletic Conference)
Logan Kopp, North Dakota State, LB, Sr. (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Chris Leonardo, Marist, OT, R-Jr. (Pioneer Football League)
JaCobian Morgan, Jackson State, QB, Grad (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Micah Nelson, Western Carolina, DE, R-Sr. (Southern Conference)
Liam O'Brien, Penn, QB, Sr. (Ivy League)
Derek Robertson, Monmouth, QB, Grad (CAA Football)
Shawn Solomon Jr., Duquesne, RB, Jr. (NEC Football)
Ky Thomas, Stephen F. Austin, DE, Grad (Southland Conference)
Players Mentioned
OL
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