Throughout his football career, University of Northern Iowa senior linebacker Josh Mahoney earned many titles: two-time first team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection, two-time team tackle leader, team captain, South Dakota Gatorade High School Player of the Year.
Titles such as these make for a memorable run in the realm of athletics. However, Panther fans will not remember Mahoney as just a football player.
Mahoney has earned other titles throughout the past few years: two-time Academic All-American, three-time Academic All-MVFC and valedictorian.
Tuesday Mahoney, along with 15 other NCAA football players, will be honored as finalists for what is considered the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy for academics, the William V. Campbell Trophy. The ceremony, conducted by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, will take place at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.
“I’m humbled and proud to receive this award on behalf of the University of Northern Iowa,” said Mahoney.
As a student athlete at UNI, Mahoney has maintained a 4.0 grade point average while double-majoring in Economics and English. All the while, he helped lead a Panther football class that has experienced a 38-12 overall record as well as multiple conference championships and post-season success.
“Being a student athlete can be very difficult, especially if you don’t like what you’re doing. I was fortunate enough to join a team with a great group of guys. They made it not seem quite so much like work some of the time,” Mahoney said.
Teammates and coaches alike believe that Mahoney’s academic performance influenced his performance on the field.
“(His football intelligence) gives him a half-step headed in the right direction each play, which means he doesn’t have to run a 4.4 (40-yard dash) to still get to the ball because he has a perfect start,” said UNI head football coach Mark Farley.
“He really knows our defense inside and out. It’s almost like you have a defensive coach on the field,” said Wes Lane, a senior defensive lineman.
“Sometimes he gets too smart, and he pulls up stuff from five weeks ago which most guys have forgotten about, myself included,” Farley said.
Mahoney’s impact has not only been felt in the huddle and in the classroom. The senior is also co-president of the UNI Pre-Law Club and volunteers his time with the Iowa Character Counts program, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Special Olympics.
“I think why he’s a recipient to the level that he is, is one: his ability to play to the level that he does; but more importantly, what he does in the summer and what he does in his off time because he just doesn’t go to class and get A’s,” said Farley.
“It’s just a great thing to see someone who is not just a football player,” said fellow UNI linebacker Jamar Thompson.
Last year, Mahoney traveled to Boston, Mass., where he presented his honors thesis, “Does Race Influence Salaries of NFL Players,” at the Eastern Economic Association annual meetings. At first glance, his topic may seem quite surface-level, especially coming from a football player, but listening to Mahoney discuss the issue might dispel that notion.
“Of course we found that (race) does not (affect NFL salaries). The NFL is such a hypercompetitive labor market, and general managers that have any type of racial prejudices put themselves at a competitive disadvantage. It is definitely a true meritocracy in the NFL,” he said.
Mahoney’s intelligence could have afforded him the opportunity to study at just about any university in the country. However it was a desire to play college football at a competitive level that led him to UNI, which offered him an athletic scholarship.
Although UNI does not possess as high of an academic reputation when compared to some other undergraduate institutions, Mahoney still feels that UNI facilitated a quality education.
“The professors that teach here are top notch in their fields in the country. These are people with Ph.D.s.” said Mahoney.
“I think there are a lot of fallacies and misconceptions about what going to a top undergraduate university gains you, especially if you have the right mindset and you’re willing to seek out resources and carve your own path.”
Much of Mahoney’s time spent doing just that is spent on campus.
“I used to go to the library four or five days a week for a couple hours after practice each night … The Rod and I have had some interesting times together, both good and bad,” he said.
“The place where I kind of got the lion’s share of my work done over the years was at the Honors Cottage. They have a 24-hour access key, and I was fortunate enough to obtain one of those.”
Mahoney will have to find a new study area next fall as he plans to enroll in law school. He will graduate from UNI this semester.
As a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, Mahoney earned an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship.
He will attend an event at Radio City Music Hall tonight, where he will get the chance to rub elbows with fellow National Scholar-Athletes, including the University of Florida’s Tim Tebow and the University of Texas’s Colt McCoy.
“I’m looking forward to talking with some of those guys and seeing what is new in their lives. I’m definitely interested because I’m jealous that they can still play football,” Mahoney said.
UNI’s football season ended in what many consider a wild and premature fashion after Illinois State University scored within the final seconds of their regular season finale to upset the Panthers, 22-20. The loss prevented UNI from qualifying for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the third consecutive year.
“It was a shame that our season had to end that way, but they say time heals all wounds. I’m still waiting for that, but I think in the end I’m so grateful for my teammates and my coaches and just an opportunity to play at such a high level,” said Mahoney.
