The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced that Trevor Holleman of the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Dani Hoagland of Concordia (Neb.) University are the 2009 recipients of the prestigious A.O. Duer Award on Friday. The award is presented annually to a junior male and female student-athlete in any sport who has excelled in character, playing ability and scholarship. Since 1967, the A.O. Duer Award has been presented in honor of the late former NAIA executive director Al Duer who was responsible for the NAIA's role as the first collegiate organization to be fully integrated.

Concordia University, Nebraska had the highest number of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics scholar-athletes in the nation for the 2008-09 academic year.Seventy-four Bulldogs earned the NAIA scholar-athlete status, 16 more than second place University of St. Francis, Fort Wayne, Indiana.