National Football Foundation

Saint John's University (MN) – LB – Global Business Leadership – 4.00 GPA
Head Coach: Gary Fasching | AD: Bob Alpers | FAR: Ken Jones

RECIPIENT OF THE F.M. KIRBY SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD, ENDOWED BY THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION

Carter Hanson personifies the student-athlete ideal, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA in global business leadership while earning All-America accolades on the field. The Saint John’s standout becomes the third NFF National Scholar-Athlete in school history.

A First Team Academic All-American in 2015, Hanson has earned First Team Academic All-District honors three times, and he is a three-time academic all-conference performer. The Blue Earth, Minn., native was the recipient of the 2016-17 Global Business Scholarship and the 2014 MIAC Elite 22 Award for having the top GPA among the conference’s top two teams. A six-time Dean’s List member, Hanson was inducted into the Sigma Beta Delta honorary. Also minoring in finance, he plans to pursue his MBA.

A team captain and three-year letterman, Hanson was named an Honorable Mention All-American in 2015. Twice earning first team all-conference and second team all-west region honors, he guided the Johnnies to consecutive second-round appearances in the 2014 and 2015 Division III playoffs. Hanson led the team with 100 tackles in 2014 while directing Saint John’s to a conference title, and he was second on the team in 2015 with 97. His career 291 tackles are currently eighth in school history, and his 132 career solo tackles are sixth in the Johnnies’ record books. Hanson currently leads No. 9 ranked Saint John’s with 49 tackles, and the Johnnies defense ranks third nationally in Division III total defense.

Hanson is an active volunteer, serving as the director of corporate sponsorship for the on-campus organization Square One, and he traveled to Haiti in conjunction with In His Hands Orphanage to assist a local business. The president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Hanson has volunteered with Kids Against Hunger and the Special Olympics, and he has helped raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. His other activities include serving as the Senior Class Committee Chair and taking part as a member of Saint John’s Student Conduct Board and the Society for the Advancement of Management advisory board.

He is currently an associate at Goldner Hawn, a private equity firm in Minnesota.