The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) defensive player of the year award presented by College Sporting News has been named in honor of James "Boomer" Grigsby from Illinois State University. Boomer finished his college career as one of the most celebrated players in FCS history.

The award is given annually by CSN, the largest and oldest news service solely devoted to publishing original content and other information of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision.



James Harvey Grigsby was born November 15, 1981 in Canton, Illinois where he attended and played high school football at Canton High School.

He was an all-area linebacker during his senior season but was not recruited to play college football until an Illinois State coach saw him lifting weights in his high school's weight room.

At Illinois State University he was a four-year letterman and blossomed into the most decorated football player in FCS history.

A three-time Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year, he is the only player in league history to accomplish this feat.

Known as a passionate ball-hawk with a motor that never stops running, Boomer owns the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Illinois State career tackles record with 580, which was an NCAA record mark at the time.



Grigsby was an All-American for three-straight years (2002, 2003 and 2004) and was also a three-time Sports Network Buck Buchanan Award finalist as the nation's top FCS defensive player. He is the only player in the history of the award to finish in the top-three for three-consecutive years.

Boomer has been inducted into the Canton High School and Illinois State Halls of Fame plus he is a member of the MVFC All-Select NFL team and Silver Anniversary Team (announced in 2009).

Founded in 2001, CSN annually names national coach, offensive, and defensive honors, pre-season and post-season All-America teams, national weekly student-athletes honors, and maintains the Gridiron Power Index (GPI) ranking of teams which the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee has used as a tool for the selection of teams since 2008.

All awards are announced the week following the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.