For Immediate Release
Thursday, November 20, 2025
NSIC Media Relations

BURNSVILLE, Minn. – Bill Ketola of Bemidji State University was selected by the league football coaches as the 2025 NSIC Glen Galligan Award recipient. Ketola, a native of New Brighton, Minnesota and graduate of Mounds View High School, becomes 11th Beaver to earn the Glen Galligan award since its inception in 1948.  

The award is presented to a student-athlete who has participated at their institution for four years and is academically superior while making a positive contribution to the institution. The Galligan Award was initiated in 1948 to honor an outstanding senior football player in the NSIC. Galligan was the director of athletics at Winona State University from 1929-47 and head football coach from 1927-33 and 1935.

On the field, Ketola played in nine games on the offensive line for the Beavers in 2025.  He was part of a rushing offense that averaged 179.8 rushing yards per game, taking 44th in the NCAA and sixth in the NSIC. He played on two NSIC Championship teams in his career and was a member of four NCAA Playoff teams, starting in three of the five BSU playoff wins. 

Ketola is majoring in Biology (Cellular and Molecular Biology Emphasis) and Spanish and holds a 4.00 grade point average.  He is a two-time D2ADA Academic Achievement Award winner and a College Sports Communicator Academic All-American.  He is an NSIC Academic Team of Excellence member and an NSIC Myles Brand with Distinction Award winner. 

Ketola completed a research project on mycobacteriophages where he discovered and isolated a novel virus that has potential to be used in the treatment of tuberculosis. He presented his research at the American Society for Microbiology Conference in Los Angeles, California this past June and plans to publish a paper on his research.  (BSU Alumni Story) 

In the community, Ketola has been a volunteer at the local food shelf, is a tuba player in the BSU Symphonic Community Band and is a member of the BSU Pep Band. He is currently teaching a Spanish class at Bemidji Senior Center.  He earned Eagle Scout of the Year for Northern Star Council and has volunteered at the United Way of the Bemidji Area. 

Past Glen Galligan Award Winners
1948     John “Otto” Klug (RB), MSU Moorhead
1949     John “Otto” Klug (RB), MSU Moorhead
              Jim Richmire (RB), Bemidji State
1950     Bill Campbell (E), St. Cloud State
1951     Jack Buckley (RB), Bemidji State
1952     Manny Beckman (QB), St. Cloud State
1953     Mel Fischer (G), St. Cloud State
1954     Jerry Grebin (RB), Winona State
1955     Bob Kosel (QB), St. Cloud State
1956     Harold Drescher (T), Bemidji State
1957     Dave Mertes (C), Winona State
1958     Lowell Glynn (L), Mankato State
1959     No Award
1960     Andrew Jackson (C), St. Cloud State
1961     Gale Sprute (LB), Winona State
1962     Roger Meyer (OT), Mankato State
1963     Bruce Bausman (E), MSU Moorhead
1964     Don Thompson (HB), Bemidji State
1965     Ray Walsh (DB), Winona State
1966     Tom Csmarich (RB), Michigan Tech
1967     Jim Leitzke (LB), Mankato State
1968     Bill McNary (DT), Winona State
1969     Alex Pociask (C), Michigan Tech
1970     Jerry LaJeunesse (DB), Michigan Tech
1971     Larry Ras (RB), Michigan Tech
1972     Tom Bergner (QB), Minnesota-Morris
1973     Tim Mullaney (OG), Winona State
1974     Dan Rhude (OG), Michigan Tech
1975     Tom Van Wagner (OG), Michigan Tech
1976     Jim Van Wagner (RB), Michigan Tech
1977     Mark Williamson (OG), Minnesota-Morris
1978     Keith Nord (DB), St. Cloud State
1979     Bob Stouffer (LB), Winona State
1980     Mark Reed (QB), MSU Moorhead
1981     Dave Tuomi (DT), MSU Moorhead
1982     Pat Cox (OG), MSU Moorhead
             Todd Roden (OG), Minnesota-Morris
1983     Reggie Johnson (RB), Winona State
1984     Dan Koster (QB), Southwest State
             Mike Kraetsch (DT), Minnesota-Morris
1985     Dale Mehr (QB), Minnesota-Morris
1986     Mike Ross (RB), Minnesota-Morris
              Matt Wellumson (DT), Bemidji State
1987     Randy Knecht (TE), Northern State
1988     Mike Peterson (QB), Minnesota-Morris
             Bruce Saugstad (FS), Southwest State
1989     Brad Shamla (DE), MSU Moorhead
1990     Rod Leman (QB), Minnesota-Morris
1991     Wayne Wicka (DE), Winona State
1992     Marty Follis (QB), Bemidji State
1993     Matt Juhl (LB), Bemidji State
             Ed May (OT), Northern State
1994     Nate Gruber (SS), Winona State
1995     Preston Cunningham (WR), Southwest State
1996     Eric Lee (DE), Southwest State
1997     John Porisch (OL), Northern State
1998     Bart Johnson (DT), MSU Moorhead
1999     Jason Jacobs (DT), Southwest State
2000     Andrew Fleischman (OG), Concordia-St. Paul
2001     Steven Brandt (CB), Minnesota Crookston
2002     Bruce Carpenter (QB), Winona State
2003     Tim Battaglia (WR), Minnesota Duluth
2004     Blaine Thomas (OT), Bemidji State
2005     Nathan Sannes (QB), Bemidji State
2006     John Tackmann (LB), Winona State
2007     Tyler Fischer (LB), Southwest Minnesota State
2008     Tyler Reed (S), Southwest Minnesota State
2009    Silas Fluellen (QB), Wayne State
            Marcus Greatens (OL), Winona State
2010    Dan Schoen (OL), Augustana
2011    Casey Popenfoose (LB), Upper Iowa
2012    Richard Daniel (DL), Wayne State
2013    Phillip Klaphake (QB), St. Cloud State
2014    Ryan Gerts (LB), Winona State
2015    CJ Ham (RB), Augustana
2016    Jameson Parsons (WR), St. Cloud State
2017    Jacob Krause (OL), Bemidji State
2018    Jon Dicke (DL), Southwest Minnesota State
2019    Alex Goettl (LB), Minnesota State
2020    No Award
2021    Logan Swanson, Augustana
2022    Carter Duxbury, Winona State
2023    Clay Schueffner, Winona State
2024   Curtis Cox, Minnesota Duluth
2025   Bill Ketola, Bemidji State

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 27 team national championships and crowned 122 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.