BURNSVILLE, Minn. — The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) announced Augustana University’s Liz Dierks as the 2025 Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award winner and the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Austin Andrews as the recipient of the 2025 Dr. William Britton Scholar-Athlete Award. The Britton Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence, in its 41st year, recognizes the NSIC’s top male student-athlete and the Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award, in its 40th year, is presented to the NSIC’s top female student-athlete.  

The Britton Award was created in 1985 in honor of Dr. William Britton, a longtime faculty representative at Bemidji State University who served on the Athletic Board of Control of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference for 25 years. Britton retired from BSU in 1982 and passed away in March of 2019. 

The Kelly Award is named in honor of Willis R. Kelly, an associate professor of physical education at the University of Minnesota-Morris. A member of the NSIC Hall of Fame, Kelly also coordinated the Minnesota-Morris Physical Education Department from 1970-87. She became the first director of women’s intercollegiate athletics at Minnesota-Morris in 1976 and was later promoted to athletics director for the whole department. Kelly passed away in 1988.

The member institutions of the NSIC nominate one male and one female student-athlete for the Britton and Kelly Awards. The nominees must meet the following criteria: a grade point average of 3.5 or better (on a 4.0 scale); evidence of academic excellence beyond the minimum grade point average (scholarship prizes and other academic recognition), evidence of participation in the life of the institution, and evidence of participation in at least two-thirds of the varsity events of the individual’s primary sport. The award is voted on by the NSIC Faculty Athletic Representatives.

The 30 student-athletes nominated for the NSIC’s two most prestigious awards will also be recognized as NSIC Male and Female Honor Student-Athletes of the Year at their respective institutions. Dierks and Andrews will be recognized Tuesday, July 8 at the NSIC Hall of Fame Banquet in Moorhead, Minnesota and will each receive a $3,000 post-graduate scholarship. 

Liz Dierks, a native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is a senior majoring in biology at Augustana University. The Harrisburg High School graduate holds a 4.00 grade point average while excelling in softball for the Vikings. Dierks is the second student-athlete from Augustana to earn the NSIC Kelly Award as she joins Kendall Cornick (2021). 

Dierks was a 2025 NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award recipient, a multiple time member of the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence and earned the 2025 NSIC Elite 18 Award for softball.  She also earned Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete honors each of the past four seasons and was a 2023 CSC Academic All-District member. 

Dierks was one of only three students chosen for the Will Rosine Memorial Scholarship last spring, which recognizes students for their academic excellence and as student ambassadors for the biology department. Dierks had conducted multiple research experiments, including working with the South Dakota Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network and she was awarded an undergraduate research fellowship position to work in Dr. Barrett Eichler’s lab advancing the work from the 2023 research project where they synthesized 20 novel compounds to be submitted for publication.  She was also awarded an undergraduate research fellowship position to work in Dr. Barrett Eichler’s lab, which focused on improving the effectiveness of antimicrobials through the incorporation of newly synthesized compounds. 

Dierks started all 60 games in the outfield for the Vikings this season.  She has slashed .344/.373/.391 with 52 hits in 151 at bats with 14 RBIs, 38 runs scored, four doubles and a home run this season.  She was also 10 for 11 in stolen base attempts. Dierks is a two-time All-NSIC First Team performer as well as an All-Defensive team member in 2025 and 2023.  She has been a part of four NSIC Regular Season Championship teams and three NSIC Tournament titles. 

In the community, Dierks has read to kindergarten students at Harrisburg Explorer Elementary, made pamphlets for South Dakota Voices for Peace, welcomed children on their first day of school at Garfield Elementary School, assisted students with disabilities in gym class at Terry Redlin Elementary School, wrote Christmas cards for nursing home residents, taught students at Holy Spirit Elementary about the game of softball, and prepared meals for local families.

Austin Andrews, a native of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is a fifth year senior majoring in civil engineering at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Eden Prairie High School graduate holds a 3.95 grade point average while excelling in basketball for the Bulldogs. Andrews joins Arik Johnson (2024), Stephen Blackmarr (1998), Jesse Beckermann (1997) & Tom Aney (1988) as the only student-athletes from Minnesota Duluth to earn the NSIC Britton Award.   

Andrews earned the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award, is a three-time College Sports Communicator Academic All-District Team member as well as a four-time NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence member. In the summer of 2024, he was an intern for Meyer Borgman Johnson Structural Engineering where he assisted in design and analysis of structures including projects such as the new University of St. Thomas Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, Minneapolis City Hall, and new Student Housing at Arizona State University.

On the court, Andrews started in all 29 games this past season for the Bulldogs. He tallied 309 total points and 163 total rebounds, leading the team in field goal percentage (63.6%). He finished his career third all-time in rebounding at UMD with 893 and eighth in scoring with 1,711 points. His 63.6% field goal percentage also ranked third in school history as he helped UMD to a 103-39 record in his five seasons.  In 2020-21 he was named NSIC North Division Freshman of the Year and in the 2021-22 season he was named NSIC North Division Player of the Year.  He was named an All-NSIC First Team member in 2021-22 when he finished second in the league in scoring and rebounding.

On campus and in the community, Andrews was a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) where he represent the men’s basketball team to promote opportunity for all student-athletes; protecting student-athlete welfare and fostering a positive student-athlete image; and helped develop and support UMD’s Green Bandana Project providing awareness for mental health.  He has worked with Salo’s Showcase to train local Duluth youth for basketball while also developing relationships and acting as a mentor for the next generation.  He has also volunteered at Feed My Starving Children, read at local elementary schools and volunteered to run basketball drills/camps at elementary schools. 

2024-25 NSIC HONOR STUDENT ATHLETES