(Peru, Neb.) – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced on their National Awards Day on September 15 that nearly 11,000 student-athletes were named as 2021-22 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
 
Nine Peru State men's football players were named to the list.
 
Graduate students Dylan Dittman (Omaha) and Sohail Mohsini (Brentwood, Calif.) led the list of honorees. It was the third honor for Dittman and second for Mohsini. Fifth-year senior Joseph Cervantes (Wilmington, Calif.), a public administration major, earned his second honor. Seniors Michael Lombardi (Peru), Andrew Rathman (Plattsmouth), Beau Peschel (Missouri Valley, Iowa) and Luke Dalley (Shenandoah, Iowa), along with juniors Garrison Dodge (Oakland) and Tristan Stroup (Lincoln) were the other six honored. Lombardi also picked up his second scholar-athlete recognition while it was the first for the other five.
 
Dittman had finished his social science teaching degree and started his master's in education. Mohsini completed his master's in organizational management.
 
Lombardi was a criminal justice-administration major while Rathman is studying management. Peschel graduated with a degree in criminal justice-administration while Dalley is majoring in kinesiology.
 
Dodge is a K-12 health and physical education major while Stroup was a general studies major.

In order to be nominated by an institution's head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status to qualify for this honor.