National Football Foundation

Northern Iowa's Josh Mahoney applies "a mental toughness that is inspiring" both on the field and off the field, carrying a perfect 4.0 GPA and leading his team in tackles. He becomes the first-ever NFF National Scholar-Athlete from Northern Iowa. 

A Sioux Falls, S.D. native, Mahoney has been on the Dean's List his entire career at Northern Iowa. He is a three-time winner of the UNI undergraduate English Major Essay Contest and has twice been named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Academic Team. In 2008, he was named an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American and selected to the FCS Academic All-Star Team. 

In 2008, Mahoney was a First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and ranked third in the league in tackles per game (9.3), leading the Panthers to the FCS Semifinals. Mahoney led the team with 139 tackles and ranked third on the team with three interceptions. In 2007, he led the team with two forced fumbles and notched his first career interception. He is a three-year letterman with 186 career tackles, which include nine tackles for loss. 

A three-year participant in the NCAA "Just Read" program, Josh is a four-year member of Student Athlete Advisory Committee and a seminar leader for the Iowa Character Counts program. He also serves as co-president of the UNI Pre-Law Club and is a three-year volunteer for Special Olympics. Mahoney also provided flood and tornado relief following the devastating storms in Cedar Falls, Iowa. 

Mahoney earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago in 2013 and is currently a judicial law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.