Cormac Madigan ’22: Academic All-America Division III Football Team Member of the Year

Capping his standout final season playing Red Hawks football, Cormac Madigan ’22 of Rosendale, Wisconsin, received one of the most prestigious academic honors in all of college athletics: Academic All-America Division III Football Team Member of the Year by the College Sports Communicators. It recognizes his achievements in both athletics and academics.

The program selects an honorary sports team comprising the most outstanding student-athletes of the season for positions in various sports. Madigan was named a running back as one of only 25 selections from across the country for the Division III first team. Then, out of that select group, he was named Team Member of the Year. He was one of only five team members to achieve a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

A video interview with Madigan can be viewed on the Academic All-America Team website at ripon.edu/Madigan.

“It’s a great honor that shows just how much the Ripon College community can help individuals excel,” Madigan says. “This honor wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible professors and coaches I was fortunate to learn from and the teammates and peers who have worked with and supported me throughout the years.”

Madigan was the cornerstone of a Ripon program that turned in its best season in more than a decade, posting a 9-1 record and scoring nearly 40 points per game. He became Ripon’s all-time leader in rushing yards with a career total of 4,139 yards on 651 carries. This season, he totaled a league-best 1,491 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns in 10 games. He also led the Midwest Conference with 1,150 rushing yards and ranked second with 115.0 rushing yards per game and an average of 6.4 yards per carry.

He finished the regular season as Ripon’s leader in receptions, grabbing 28 catches out of the backfield for another 341 yards and three more scores.

Other honors this season included:

• Midwest Conference Offensive Skill MVP.

• Midwest Conference Elite 20 Award for highest achievement both academically and athletically.

• Player of the Year by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association.

• Player of the Year in the Wisconsin Private College Football Awards.

Madigan is a chemistry-biology major and plans to attend medical school. Patrick Willoughby, associate professor of chemistry and Madigan’s faculty research advisor, says, “Cormac is one of the most hard-working and motivated students I have encountered at Ripon College. His accomplishments expand beyond the classroom and athletic field, and he has been an inspiration to us all.

“One of our first conversations was in the Career Center during his first year where he said he wanted to become a physician. Since then, he has been focused on this career trajectory and has become one of the most accomplished students to graduate from Ripon. What makes Cormac unique from other highcaliber students is his ability to enhance the lives of others during his journey. In the face of navigating the requirements of an aspiring physician, Cormac performed at the highest level while placing the interests of teammates, fellow students, and surrounding community ahead of his own. He achieved a perfect GPA and high MCAT score while working third shift as a medical scribe, researching the use of enzymes for making pharmaceuticals and volunteering to monitor bluebird activity.

“The fact that these accomplishments are mirrored by a similar résumé on the football field makes Cormac uniquely inspiring. On his one day off from preseason football workouts in August 2022, Cormac traveled to Chicago to present at the American Chemical Society National Conference. We left at 6 a.m., returned at midnight, and he was back on the field the following morning.”

Ron Ernst, Ripon’s now-retired head coach and defensive coordinator, adds, “Cormac is the epitome of what it means to be a student-athlete. Along with being such a good student in the classroom, Cormac had the utmost respect from his teammates and the coaching staff.”

He says Madigan displays an “unbelievable” work ethic, mental toughness and a fire and drive to succeed at everything he tackles, both on and off the field. “I would often find him working out on the treadmill in the athletic center, not watching movies or listening to music, but rather studying notes for his next pre-med class,” Ernst says.

Madigan says his final football game as a Redhawk was emotional. “I’ll never forget the bittersweet feeling of beating Lawrence at home this year, winning the first conference championship for the football program in more than 20 years,” he says. “The mix of joy and sorrow that came with knowing this would be my last time running the ball into the end zone at Ingalls Field.

“My experience as a student-athlete will be a great asset in my future medical career. The ability to receive and apply feedback, work with others towards a common goal, and work well under pressure are all crucial skills that I honed during my time at Ripon College as a student-athlete.” opposite During the final football game of the season, in which Ripon clinched a threeway tie for conference champion, Cormac Madigan ’22 was a standout. above right Honing his skills for his future career as a physician, Cormac Madigan ’22 works in the chemistry lab of Associate Professor of Chemistry Patrick Willoughby. left Cormac Madigan ’22 plays as a member of the baseball team in spring 2022.