National Football Foundation

The first-ever NFF National Scholar-Athlete in the history of South Dakota State football, Ryan Berry's dedication to his team and the university community goes far beyond the playing field. 

Working towards a bachelor's degree in biology in hopes of attending medical school, Berry is a two-time Academic All-Great West Football Conference selection and a six-time member of the SDSU Dean's List. He is also a Yellow and Blue Academic Scholarship winner and the recipient of the William and Bryne Griffith Academic Scholarship. 

A two-year starter, Berry led the Jackrabbits to the 2007 Great West Football Conference title, the team's first since 1963. Making an immediate impact at SDSU, the Watertown, S.D., native tied a single-game school record with five touchdown passes in his first career start. He has completed 440 passes for 5,152 yards and 46 touchdowns in his collegiate career. 

Actively involved in the community, Berry has participated in reading programs at local elementary schools and visited area children's hospitals and retirement homes. He is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and served as a volunteer for the Student-Athletes Fall Carnival and youth football clinics. 

Berry received his nursing degree from South Dakota State University in 2010 and served as a registered nurse for Sanford Health for two years. In 2013, he began working toward his master's in nurse anesthesia at the Minneapolis School of Anesthesia and graduated in 2016. Berry is now a CRNA at MEDNAX in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area.