FOOTBALL: Josh Brehm Awarded the Albert H. Deal Scholar-Athlete Award
Alma, Mi.- When Josh Brehm transferred to Alma College from Michigan Tech, the football coaches were excited. They knew they were getting a world class athlete and a player with the character needed to lead 100 teammates into battle every Saturday. As his collegiate career has run its course, and his awards and honors cover the walls, it is only fitting that he takes with him the most prestigious and the final award given out by the MIAA each year- the Albert H. Deal Scholar-Athlete Award.
The Albert H. Deal Scholar-Athlete Award is given out annually to the senior male athlete
who has best represented what it means to be a student athlete in the MIAA. Josh Brehm is a shining example of the kind of young men and young women who fill the jerseys and the classrooms of each MIAA school, and the kind we search for and help to mold at Alma College.
While at Alma, Brehm has compiled a football resume that could stand up against any in the nation. Brehm led the NCAA Division III in three football categories: total offense (4,084), passing yards (3,448), and passing yards per game (344.8). During his senior season, he set two NCAA records including the most consecutive passes thrown (288) without an interception, and the Division III record for the most consecutive games with over 300 yards of total offense (10). Brehm also holds 15 Alma College records including 
passing yards (10,706), pass completions (919), and touchdown passes (85).
Brehm has made sure his name will forever be scattered throughout the MIAA record books as he was nameed All-MIAA First Team twice, MIAA Offensive Player of the Week seven times, and was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the year for his dominance in his senior season.
The recognition of his excellence on the football field far surpassed the MIAA as he was asked to play in the East Coast Bowl which displays the best small college talent in the country. Surrounded by the best in the nation, Brehm still shined bright as he went 20 of 28 through the air with 240 yards, adding two
touchdowns- one by air, one by ground.
If the standout performance he put on at the East Coast Bowl didn't convince people that he was the real deal, later that year it could no longer be denied as he was awarded the 2006 Gagliardi Trophy, an honor given annually to the best player in Division III football for his excellence in academics, athletics, and community service.
Josh Brehm will not be remembered forever at Alma College because he was only a great football player. He will be remembered because the excellence he showed at his sport was no less than the excellence he displayed in everything else he did. As much as his stats and records warranted the receiving of the Albert H. Deal Award, his performance in the classroom and around campus was just as convincing. 
Brehm graduated in December 2006 with a double major in Business and Psychology and 3.78 grade point average. Josh finished out his time at Alma with three consecutive 4.0 GPA semesters and was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American second team. Josh was also awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
Besides his time in the classroom, on the field, and in the weight room; Brehm managed to find time to participate in many campus activities including Students in Free Enterprise, and lending his voice as a student-athlete representative for many on campus organizations. When teammate Joe Nelson tragically died in a car accident, Josh Brehm spearheaded a fundraising effort in his name to make sure that the whole campus and outlying community knew what a loss we all suffered in Joe's passing.
The Albert H. Deal Scholar-Athlete Award is given annually to deserving seniors. I charge any MIAA athlete to strive to be as deserving as Alma College graduate and Ithaca native, Josh Brehm, is in the receiving of this honor.
Josh Brehm 2006-07 Albert H. Deal Scholar-Athlete Award Recipient
-jme-
Posted: Thu, June 14th, 2007 at 9:09AM
