GRINNELL, Iowa - Today, Grinnell College's Troy Dougherty '00 is being honored as one of the Midwest Conference's Top 100 Student-Athletes as part of the league's centennial celebration.
Mention Grinnell's perfect 10-0 football season in 1998, and Dougherty's name jumps to the forefront. A 2007 inductee into Grinnell's Athletic Hall of Fame, he was named to two All-America Teams in 1998 including first-team honors from Hewlett-Packard. He finished his career with three NCAA Division III records and threw for 10,200 yards through the air, making him one of just a handful of NCAA D-III quarterbacks to pass for more than 10,000 yards and 100 touchdowns. Dougherty led the nation in passing efficiency in 1998 with a 199.6 rating, completing 198-of-293 aerials for 3,310 yards, 36 touchdowns and just five interceptions. The efficiency figure still ranks 15th all-time at the D-III level and his 109 career touchdown passes rank 24th. Dougherty is the holder of 23 Grinnell school records, nine in the career category, nine for a season and five for a game.
His Midwest Conference success is of note, as even two decades after his career came to a close he is still listed 17 times in the league's record book. Dougherty holds the MWC record for touchdown passes in a game when he slung eight against Illinois College in 1997. He is second in career touchdown passes with 109 and third in career passing yards as well as completions for a game with 41 and career passing yards per game with 275.7. He ranks fourth in career pass completions with 734, career pass attempts with 1,192 and touchdown passes in a season with 36. Dougherty was named MWC Offensive Player of the Year in 1998 and MWC South Division Player of the Year the season before. He was named to the All-MWC first team in 1999, 1998 and 1997 while earning second-team honors in 1994.
Dougherty also excelled academically, being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and being named to the Dean's List eight times. He also won the Helena Percas de Ponseti Senior Prize in Spanish. Dougherty followed his collegiate career with a stint in semi-professional football, playing for the Madison Lionz from 2003-06. He was named League MVP in 2003 and 2006 and was the league's Most Valuable Offensive Player in 2005.
About the MWC Top 100 selections
Individual schools were given an allotment of selections based number of years in the conference and length of time sports were offered to males and females. Grinnell was given nine slots, five for men's sports and four for women's. A committee at the College was presented an initial group of nominees created by the Sports Information Director, and that list was expanded upon by committee members. Through a number of meetings, the nominations were carefully whittled down to the final nine selections. More on the MWC Centennial program can be found here.
