CLEVELAND, Ohio - South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski was honored Thursday as a Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association.

“On behalf of the FCS ADA, I extend our congratulations to this year’s recipients for their dedication to excellence, both on the football field and in the classroom, an honor that is truly commendable,” stated FCS ADA President/1st VP Mark Benson director of athletics at the University at Albany.” “We are proud to support your continued pursuit of academic achievement and professional success beyond athletics. Congratulations to each of you, as well as to your coaches, teammates, administrators, faculty, and families, for their invaluable support along the way.”

Gronowski and Abilene Christian defensive back Anthony Egbo Jr. were selected out of a field of eight finalists and 52 FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team honorees to receive a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship. SDSU linebacker Adam Bock was included in the list of those receiving Academic All-Star recognition.

“It’s a real honor. There were a lot of great candidates that were up for (the award) - a lot of hard-working people, a lot of great players and great student-athletes overall. It’s just really exciting and I feel honored to get this award because it shows all the hard work I’ve put into the classroom,” stated Gronowski. “This really will help out with the financials and everything in that sense, but I’m really excited to continue my academic career.”

Entering his senior season, Gronowski is completing his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in the spring of 2024 and plans on pursuing his master’s degree in engineering management beginning in the fall. Gronowski holds a 3.7 cumulative GPA and was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Team this past fall and is a two-time member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team.

On the field, Gronowski has helped lead the Jackrabbits to back-to-back FCS national titles and was honored as the 2023 recipient of the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in the subdivision. He led the FCS in passing efficiency (179.67) after throwing for 3,058 yards and 29 touchdowns against only five interceptions.

In addition, Gronowski is active in the community, serving as a Special Olympics volunteer since 2016 and as a youth flag football coach through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) since 2021.

Gronowski is the sixth Jackrabbit student-athlete to be named a winner of the FCS ADA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in the 23 years of the program, joining Cory Koenig (2007), Ryan Berry (2008), Zach Zenner (2014), Taryn Christion (2018) and Preston Tetzlaff (2020-21).