Blake Elliott '03

2014 Bob Basten Excellence in Leadership Award

Blake Elliott '03 received the Bob Basten Award at halftime of the Homecoming football game Oct. 4, 2014. The Basten Award honors a former Johnnie football player who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and a commitment to excellence. It is given in honor of the late Bob Basten '82, a former Minnesota Viking and founder of the Playing to Win for Life Foundation for ALS Research.

Elliott's record-breaking SJU football career is unmatched. he received the Gagliardi Trophy and a national championship in 2003. He was a three-time All-American, two-time MIAC Player of the Year and, in 2014, he was placed on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Elliott is the co-owner and director of operations at Everyday Living in Eagan, Minn., a foster-care system for adults with special needs. He created the company after his younger brother suffered a traumatic brain injury just before Blake's senior year at SJU. Elliott has served as president of the J-Club and is heavily involved in Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit committed to ending world hunger.