Nissen-Emery Award

Information below was provided by the College Gymnastics Association

Since 1966, college gymnastics’ highest honor, the Nissen Award, has been presented annually to that year’s outstanding senior collegiate gymnast. From 1966 through 1989 the award nomination, selection and presentation process was managed by the Nissen Company. IBM sponsored the award in 1990. USA Gymnastics sponsored the award from 1991-97. In 1998 Dr. Robert W. Emery, the 1969 winner, agreed to help the C.G.A. finance the redesigning of the Award and establish an endowment that would indefinitely cover the annual expenses associated with it.

The Nissen-Emery Award does not only honor the collegiate senior gymnast who has established an outstanding record of achievement during his college career. More than simply an award for gymnastics excellence, the winner must also meet these requirements:

He must be an example of good sportsmanship and fair play…a champion in defeat as well as in victory.
He must maintain a high standard of scholarship throughout his college career.

College gymnastics coaches, student athletes and accredited college gymnastics judges all across the nation are requested each year to submit nominations for the award. Gymnasts receiving the highest number of nominations are then placed on a final ballot and voted upon by those same coaches, athletes and judges.

The award presentation is held annually at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships.

The “Heisman Trophy” of gymnastics, the Nissen-Emery Award is inscribed with the following motto: “The true champion seeks excellence physically, mentally, socially, and morally.”

PAST RECIPIENTS

1966 Winner: James Curzi, Michigan State University

Coach: George Szypula
Nominees:
Rich Blanton, University of Michigan
Mark Cohn, Temple University
Rich Field, University of California-Berkeley
Terry Higgins – Air Force Academy
Edward Isabelle, Penn State University
Mike Lovell, University of Washington
Rusty Rock, California State University – Northridge

1967 Winner: Steve Cohen, Penn State University

Coach: Gene Wettstone
Nominees:
Robert Cargill, Springfield College
LaMoyne Durham, University of Southern California
Frank Fortier, Louisiana State University
Kenneth Gordon, University of Iowa
Gerry Peterson, Western Illinois University
Josh Robison, University of California-Berkeley

1968 Winner: Dave Thor, Michigan State University

Coach: George Szypula
Nominees:
Kanati Allen, U.C.L.A.
Sid Freudenstein, University of California-Berkeley
Mike Jacki, Iowa State University
Danny Millman, University of California-Berkeley
Dave Neimand, California State University-Sacramento

1969 Winner: Robert Emery, Penn State University

Coach: Gene Wettstone
Nominees:
Gary Diamond, University of California-Berkeley
Bob Dickson, University of Iowa
Richard Grigsby, California State University-Northridge
Dave Jacobs, University of Michigan

1970 Winner: Peter DiFurio, Temple University

Coach: Bill Coco
Nominees:
James Amerine, Southern Connecticut State College
Eric Courchesne, University of California-Berkeley
Kean Day, Louisiana State University
John Ellas, Northwestern Louisiana State
Rich Murahata, Michigan State University
Doug Peak, Iowa State University
Ron Rapper, University of Michigan
Richard Scorza, University of Iowa
Richard Swetman, Penn State University
Bruce Trott, Ohio State University

1971 Winner: Brent Simmons, Iowa State University

Coach: Ed Gagnier
Nominees:
Ron Clemmer, Temple University
Stormy Eaton, University of New Mexico
George Greenfield, University of California-Berkeley
Yoshi Hayasaki, University of Washington
John Hughes, Brigham Young University
Rick McCurdy, University of Michigan
Paul Tickenoff, Northwestern Louisiana State

1972 Winner: Tom Lindner, Southern Illinois University

Coach: Bill Meade
Nominees: Russ Hoffman, Iowa State University
Ted Marti, University of Michigan
William Mitchell, Penn State University
Brian Scott, Arizona State University
Dave Seal, Indiana State University
Dana Shelley, University of New Mexico
Dean Showalter, University of Iowa

1973 Winner: John Crosby, Southern Connecticut State College

Coach: Abie Grossfeld
Nominees:
John Aitken, University of New Mexico
Marshall Avener, Penn State University
Randy Balhorn, Michigan State University
Ray Gura, University of Michigan
Odess Lovin, University of Oklahoma
Jim Stephenson, Iowa State University
Eric Swanson, U.S. Naval Academy

1974 Winner: Steve Hug, Stanford University

Coach: Sadao Hamada
Nominees:
Paul Blasko, Indiana State University
Ben Fernandez, Indiana University
Doug Fitzjarrell, Iowa State University
James Kreust, Penn State University
Carl Walin, University of Iowa

1975 Winner: Jay Whelan, Southern Connecticut State College

Coach: Abie Grossfeld

1975 Winner*: Gary Morava, Southern Illinois University

Coach: Bill Meade
Nominees:
Gary Alexander, Arizona State University
Mike Carter, Louisiana State University
Orlando Fernandez, Indiana University
Mark Graham, Iowa State University
James Ivicek, Southern Illinois University
Wayne Young, Brigham Young University
*Special Award, posthumously recognized

1976 Winner: Gene Whelan, Penn State University

Coach: Gene Wettstone
Nominees:
Larry Bilow, California State University-Northridge
Keith Heaver, Iowa State University
Mike Kavanagh, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Jeff LaFleur, University of Minnesota
Gene Mackie, University of Nebraska
Ted Marcy, Stanford University

1977 Winner: Peter Kormann, Southern Connecticut State College

Coach: Abie Grossfeld
Nominees:
Tom Beach, University of California-Berkeley
Larry Cox, Arizona State University
John Hart, UCLA
Mark O’Malley, Western Michigan University
Kurt Pflieger, Penn State University
Doug Wood, Iowa State University

1978 Winner: Tim LaFleur, University of Minnesota

Coach: Fred Roethlisberger
Nominees:
Scott Barclay, Arizona State University
Don Dembrow, Southern Connecticut State College
Steve Kinnett, Houston Baptist University
Scott McEldowney, University of Oregon
Sam Shaw, California State University-Fullerton
Michael Silverstein, Temple University
Yoichi Tomita, California State University-Long Beach
Mark Trippel, Iowa State University

1979 Winner: Kurt Thomas, Indiana State University

Coach: Roger Counsil
Nominees:
Mike Burke, Northern Illinois University
Larry Gerard, University of Nebraska
Warren Long, University of California-Berkeley
Jeff Morrison, Georgia Tech
Paul Simon, Penn State University
Mike Wilson, University of Oklahoma

1980 Winner: Mario McCutcheon, So. Connecticut State College

Coach: Abie Grossfeld
Nominees:
Ed Babtkis, University of Southern California
Les Moore, University of Oklahoma
Casey Edwards, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Butch Zunich, University of Illinois
Stacy Maloney, Iowa State University

1981 Winner: Bart Conner, University of Oklahoma

Coach: Paul Ziert
Nominees:
Scott Bram, Temple University
Ron Galimore, Iowa State University
Steve Lechner, University of Illinois

1982 Winner: Jim Hartung, University of Nebraska

Coach: Francis Allen
Nominees:
Mike Bergman, University of California-Berkeley
Kelly Crumley, University of Iowa
Ron Howard, California State University-Fullerton
Randy Jepson, Penn State University
Brian Meeker, University of Minnesota
Bill Paul, University of California-Berkeley

1983 Winner: Peter Vidmar, UCLA

Coach: Art Shurlock
Nominees:
Brian Babcock, Southern Illinois University
Matt Biespiel, S. Connecticut State University
Phil Cahoy, University of Nebraska
Peter Ditullio, United States Navel Academy
Bob Gavito, California State University-Fullerton
Scott Johnson, University of Nebraska
Kevin Kirks, Iowa State University
Steve Marino, Penn State University

1984 Winner: Roy Palassou, San Jose State University

Coach: Rich Chew
Nominees:
Mark Caso, UCLA
Tim Daggett, UCLA
Daren Dembrow, So. Connecticut State University
Brett Finch, Iowa State University
Mitch Gaylord, UCLA
Doug Kieso, Northern Illinois University
Mike Sims, University of Oklahoma
Randy Wickstrom, University of California-Berkeley

1985 Winner: Matt Arnot, University of New Mexico

Coach: Rusty Mitchell
Nominees:
Rick Atkinson, Iowa State University
Bobby Fleming, Temple University
Mark Oates, University of Oklahoma
Robert Playter, Ohio State University

1986 Winner: Wes Suter, University of Nebraska

Coach: Francis Allen
Nominees:
Dan Bachman, University of Iowa
Tim Koopman, Temple University
Rob Campbell, UCLA
Jon Louis, Stanford University
Jim Niforatos, University of Illinois-Chicago
Joe Ledvora, University of Illinois-Champaign
Derrick Cornelius, Cortland State University

1987 Winner: Michael ‘Spider’ Maxwell, Penn State University

Coach: Karl Schier
Nominees:
Collin Godkin, University of Minnesota
Steve Mikulak, University of California-Berkeley
Neil Palmer, University of Nebraska
Mike Rice, University of Oklahoma
Mitch Rose, University of Michigan
Luc Teurlings, UCLA

1988 Winner: Tom Schlesinger, University of Nebraska

Coach: Francis Allen
Nominees:
Mike Dutelle, University of Wisconsin
Tigran Mkchyan, University of Illinois
David Moriel, UCLA
Keith Pettit, Michigan State University
Robert Sundstrom, University of California-Berkeley
Joe Thome, University of Iowa

1989 Winner: David Zeddies, University of Illinois-Champaign

Coach: Yoshi Hayasaki
Nominees:
Mike Costa, University of Illinois-Chicago
Mike Epperson, University of Nebraska
Curtis Holdsworth, UCLA
Tom Vaughan, University of Oklahoma
Paul Wozniak, University of Iowa

1990 Winner: Mike Racanelli, Ohio State University

Coach: Peter Kormann
Nominees:
Jeff Dow, University of Iowa
Patrick Kirksey, University of Nebraska
Mark McKiernan, University of Minnesota
Chris Waller, UCLA

1991 Winner: Jarrod Hanks, University of Oklahoma

Coach: Greg Buwick
Nominees:
Brad Bryan, University of Nebraska
Jay Caputo, University of Minnesota
Erik Heikkila, University of Iowa
Dave Mansky, Kent State University
Terry Notary, U.C.L.A.
Hector Salazar, So. Connecticut State Univ.
Mark Sohn, Penn State University

1992 Winner: Scott Keswick, UCLA

Coach: Art Shurlock
Nominees:
Bill Roth, Temple University
Dominick Minicucci, Temple University
Paul Bautel, University of Iowa
Tim Ryan, Stanford University
Joel Miller, U.S. Air Force Academy
Richard Hoag, Springfield College
Jody Newman, Arizona State University
Adam Carton, Penn State University
Jason Brown, Brigham Young University
Mark Brodman, U.C. – Santa Barbara
Dave Williams, College of William & Mary

1993 Winner: John Roethlisberger, University of Minnesota

Coach: Fred Roethlisberger
Nominees:
Ricardo Cheriel, University of Illinois
Marcus Jordan, University of Oklahoma
James Knopp, Ohio State University
Matthew Landress, Kent State University
Jair Lynch, Stanford
Mike Masucci, Penn State University
Chainey Umphrey, UCLA

1994 Winner: Kip Simons, Ohio State University

Coach: Peter Kormann
Nominees:
Mark Booth, Stanford University
James Guay, U.C. – Berkeley
Dennis Harrison, Nebraska
Mohamad Haque, U.S. Military Academy
Barry McDonald, U. of Illinois – Chicago
Tom Meadows, University of Oklahoma
Greg Umphrey, UCLA

1995 Winner: Josh Stein, Stanford University

Coach: Sadao Hamada
Nominees:
Danny Akerman, Temple University
Richard Grace, Nebraska
Rick Kieffer, Nebraska
Brian Kobylinski, U. of Illnois
Daniel Stover, U. of Oklahoma
Sebronzik Wright, College of William & Mary
Brian Yee, U. of Minnesota

1996 Winner: Darrin Elg, Brigham Young University

Coach: Mako Sakamoto
Nominees:
Jason Christie, University of Nebraska
Peter Braxton Hegi, Stanford University
Steve Marshall, U.S. Military Academy
Chase Penny, Univ. of Illinois-Chicago
Ofri Porat, Syracuse University
Blaz Puljic, University of New Mexico
Jay Thornton, University of Iowa

1997 Winner: Blaine Wilson, Ohio State University

Coach: Peter Kormann
Nominees:
Ian Bacharach, Stanford University
Casey Bryan, University of Oklahoma
Carl Imhauser, Temple University
David Kruse, University of California
Scott McCall, William and Mary
Joe Roemer, Penn State University
Keith Wiley, Stanford University

1998 Winner: Dan Fink, University of Oklahoma

Coach: Greg Buwick
Nominees:
Greg Bosch, James Madison University
Chris Camiscioli, University of Iowa
Jon Corbit, University of Illinois-Champaign
Paul Mendoza, University of California-Santa Barbara
Bill Mulholland, University of Nebraska
Fabricio Olsson, Brigham Young University
Ethan Sterk, Michigan State University
Evgenii Zherebchevskiy, Univ. of California-Berkeley

1999 Winner: Todd Bishop, University of Oklahoma

Coach: Greg Buwick
Nominees:
Adrian Johnston, University of Iowa
Jim Koziol, University of Nebraska
Peter Landry, Ohio State University
Josh Nelson, University of California – Santa Barbara
Ron Roeder, Penn State University
Stephen Pryor, University of Massachusetts
Kyle Zak, University of Illinois

2000 Winner: Jeff Lavallee, The University of Massachusetts

Coach: Roy Johnson
Nominees:
Jose “Lalo” Haro, The University of Michigan
Jason Katsampes, Stanford University
Huy Ly, The University of Oklahoma
Michael Moran, Temple University
Michael Morgan, The Ohio State University
Travis Romagnoli, The University of Illinois
Brandon Stefaniak, Penn State University
Todd Strada, The University of Iowa
Guard Young, Brigham Young University

2001 Winner: Jamie Natalie, Ohio State University

Coach: Miles Avery
Nominees:
Kevin Agnew, The University of Iowa
Dominic Brindle, Penn State University
Jason Hardabura, University of Nebraska
Scott Harris, United State Military Academy
Leo Oka, University of Illinois
Brendan O’Neil, University of Oklahoma
Kevin Roulston, University of Michigan

2002 Winner: Justin Toman, University of Michigan

Coach: Kurt Golder
Nominees:
Don Jackson, The University of Iowa
J.G. Ketchen, University of Illinois
Troy Pazcoguin, Army
David Johnston, University of Oklahoma
Michael Kelly, University of California-Santa Barbara
Clayton Kent, University of Massachusetts
Grant Clinton, University of Nebraska

2003 Winner: Daniel Furney, University of Oklahoma

Coach: Mark Williams
Nominees:
Aaron Jackson – Airforce
Cameron Schick – Iowa
Clay Strother- Minnesota
Cody Moore – Cal
Kevin Donahue – Penn State
Marshall Erwin – Stanford
Raj Bhavsar – Ohio State

2004 Winner: Dan Gill, Stanford University

Coach: Tom Glielmi
Nominees:
Jeffrey Andersen – U.S. Air Force Academy
David Eaton – University of California
Jamey Houle – Ohio State University
Jamie Northrup – College of William and Mary
Bob Rogers – University of Illinois
Quinn Rowell – University of Oklahoma
Kevin Tan – Penn State University

2005 Winner: Guillermo Alvarez, University of Minnesota

Coach: Mike Burns
Nominees:
Graham Ackerman, California
Randy Monahan, Ohio State University
Ben Newman, Illinois
Luis Vargas, Penn State

2006 Winner: Justin Spring, University of Illinois

Coach: Yoshi Hayasaki
Nominees:
Chad Buczek, Penn State
Nate Downs, Stanford
Jamie Henderson, Oklahoma
Gerry Signorelli, Michigan
Ramon Jackson, William & Mary
Michael Reavis, Iowa

2007 Winner: Matt Cohen, Penn State University

Coach: Randy Jepson
Nominees:
Jacques Bouchard, Iowa
Brian Carr, Oklahoma
Peter Derman, Stanford
Willie Ito, Ohio State
Justin Laury, Michigan
Jake Lee, Minnesota
Tim Morrison, Illinois-Chicago

2008 Winner: Jonathan Horton, University of Oklahoma

Coach: Mark Williams
Nominees:
D.J. Bucher, Ohio State
Wes Haagensen, Illinois
Derek Helsby, Penn State
Tim McNeill, University of California
David Sender, Stanford
Luke Vexler, Temple University

2009 Winner: Casey Sandy, Penn State University

Coach: Randy Jepson
Nominees:
Jake Bateman, Ohio State
Kit Beikmann, Minnesota
Chris Brooks, Oklahoma
Kyson Bunthuwong, University of California
Phil Goldberg, Michigan
Sho Nakamori, Stanford
T.J. Schmidt, Nebraska
Jacob Schonig, U.S. Air Force Academy

2010 Winner: Luke Stannard, Illinois

Coach: Justin Spring
Nominees:
Jonathan Buese, Iowa
David Chan, Michigan
Aaron Fortunato, Minnesota
Derek Gygax, William & Mary
Nicholas Noone, Stanford
Kyle Shanahan, Nebraska
Andrew Stover, Illinois-Chicago

2011 Winner: Steven Legendre, Oklahoma

Coach: Mark Williams
Nominees:
Tim Gentry, Stanford
Brandon Wynn, Ohio State
Bryan Del Castillo, California
Kyle Bunthuwong, California
Danial Ribeiro, Illinois
Chris Cameron, Michigan

2012 Winner: Paul Ruggeri III, Illinois

Coach: Justin Spring
Nominees:
Andrew Faulk, Navy

DJ Repp, Minnesota
Ty Echard, Ohio State

Miguel Pineda, Penn State
Glen Ishino, California

2013 Winner: Eddie Penev, Stanford

Coach: Thom Glielmi
Nominees:
Syque Caesar, Michigan
Steven Lacombe, California
Yoshi Mori, Illinois
Garrek Hojan-Clark, Army
Alex Tighe, Temple
Felix Aronovich, Penn State

2014 Winner: Sam Mikulak, Michigan

Coach: Kurt Golder
Nominees:
Donothan Bailey, California
Zack Chase, Minnesota
Presten Ellsworth, Oklahoma
Adrian Evans, Penn State
Landon Funiciello, William & Mary
Michael Newburger, Ohio State
Chris Turner, Stanford
Kip Webber, Army

2015 Winner: Ellis Mannon, Minnesota

Coach: Mike Burns
Nominees:
Adrian de los Angeles, Michigan
Craig Hernandez, Penn State
C.J. Maestas, Illinois
Alec Robin, Oklahoma
Sean Senters, Stanford

2016 Winner: Jesse Glenn, Army

Coach: Doug Van Everen
Nominees:
Jack Boyle, Iowa
Logan Bradley, Illinois
Trevor Howard, Penn State
Brian Knott, Stanford
Ethan Lottman, Nebraska
Kanji Oyama, Oklahoma
Kevin Wolting, Cal-Berkeley

2017 Winner: Akash Modi, Stanford

Coach: Thom Glielmi
Nominees:
Allan Bower, Oklahoma
Neal Courter, William & Mary
Zach Liebler, Minnesota
Jake Martin, Ohio State
Akash Modi, Stanford
Joey Peters, Illinois
Colin Van Wicklen, Oklahoma
Timothy Wang, Air Force

2018 Winner: Sean Melton, Ohio State

Coach: Rustam Sharipov
Nominees:
Joel Gagnon, Minnesota
Austin Hodges, Iowa
Hunter Justus, Oklahoma
Kyle King, Nebraska
Sean Melton, Ohio State
Robert Neff, Stanford
Brandon Ngai, Illinois

2019 Winner: Yul Moldauer, Oklahoma

Coach: Mark Williams
Nominees:
Grant Breckenridge, Stanford
Alex Diab, Illinois
Jacopo Gliozzi, William & Mary
Vitali Kan, Minnesota
Justin Karstadt, Minnesota
Yul Moldauer, Oklahoma
Anton Stephenson, Nebraska
Alec Yoder, Ohio State

2020 Winner: Stephen Nedoroscik, Penn State

Coach: Randy Jepson
Nominees:
Jake Bonnay, Nebraska
David Jessen, Stanford
Stephen Nedoroscik, Penn State
Michael Paradise, Illinois
Bailey Perez, Stanford
Sam Zakutney, Penn State

2021 Winner: Shane Wiskus, Minnesota

Coach: Mike Burns
Finalists:
Andrew Bitner, Stanford
Cameron Bock, Michigan
Bennet Huang, Iowa
Blake Sun, Stanford
Matt Wenske, Oklahoma
Shane Wiskus, Minnesota

2022 Winner: Brody Malone, Stanford

Coach: Thom Glielmi
Finalists:
Hamish Carter, Illinois
Mathew Davis, Army
Charlie Giles, Nebraska
Vitaliy Guimaraes, Oklahoma
Evan Kriley, Nebraska
Brody Malone, Stanford
Jesse Tyndall, Ohio State
Josh Williams, Navy

2023 Winner: Paul Juda, Michigan

Coach: Yuan Xiao
Finalists:
Brandon Briones – Stanford
Chase Clingman – Penn State
Spencer Goodell – Oklahoma
Paul Juda – Michigan
Riley Loos – Stanford
Christian Marsh – William & Mary
Donte McKinney – Nebraska
Ian Skirkey – Illinois

2024 Winner: Colt Walker, Stanford

Coach: Thom Glielmi
Finalists:
Javier Alfonso – Michigan
Ashton Anaya – Illinois
Garrett Braunton – Air Force
Syam Buradagunta – Navy
Aidan Cuy – William & Mary
Michael Fletcher – Illinois
Jack Freeman – Oklahoma
Donovan Hewitt – Ohio State
Connor McCool – Illinois
Noah Newfeld – Cal
Sam Phillips – Nebraska
Evgeny Siminiuc – Michigan