Former Husker fullback Dane Todd continued to gain recognition for his academic excellence this week, as he was awarded the Walter Byers Scholarship, the NCAA’s highest academic honor. Todd was selected as the men’s recipient of the award, while Katie Kingsbury (women’s tennis) of Washington & Lee University was selected among the women.

The Walter Byers Scholarships were established in 1988 and recognizes the contributions of former NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. The awards encourage academic achievement of student-athletes and each Byers Scholar receives a $21,500 scholarship. Winners have the option of renewing the scholarship for a second year based on his or her academic standing.

Todd, who graduated from Nebraska with a degree in biological sciences in May of 2006 with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, finished his career with the Huskers in 2006. During his time at NU, Todd was a first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection for his work on the field, while adding multiple awards for his academic excellence. Todd was a CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American in 2005 and a second-team pick last fall. He was a four-time member of the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team and a two-time Wuerffel Award finalist. Todd was also recently honored as the Nebraska Male Student-Athlete of the Year.

Todd’s superior performance extends to his community involvement, where he has volunteered his time with American Education Week, "School is Cool" Week, the Dads of Kids with Disabilities, the UNL Shadowing Program, and numerous hospital visits and speaking engagements. Todd has been a representative on the Nebraska Student-Athlete Advisory Committee each of the past three years and is also a Big 12 Community Champion.

Todd beat out two other male finalists for the award, including Stephen Hrinda, cross country, track and field, Case Western Reserve University and Patrick Huffer, soccer, Williams College.