UMD Bulldogs "ALLETE" Moments: Classroom

Throughout this year, UMD Athletics is partnering with Minnesota Power, ALLETE to highlight the Bulldogs accomplishments in the 3 C's: Classroom, Competition, Community. 

For the first time in a quarter century, the University of Minnesota Duluth Athletic Department has a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Britton Award winner.

Graduate football offensive lineman Arik Johnson has been named the 2024 Dr. William Britton Scholar-Athlete Award recipient, the first Bulldog to earn the honor since Stephen Blackmarr was awarded it in 1998. The Britton Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence, in its 40th year, recognizes the NSIC's top male student-athlete -- UMD as a department has had four men earn the honor since 1988 and six women win the Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award, in its 39th year, presented to the NSIC's top female student-athlete.

Johnson, a native of Birchwood, Wis., is a graduate student who majored in criminology and sociology while minoring in history at UMD. The Rice Lake High School graduate held a 3.98 grade point average while excelling in football for the Bulldogs. Johnson joins Blackmarr (1998), Jesse Beckermann (1997) and Tom Aney (1988) as the only student-athletes from UMD to earn the NSIC Britton Award. Johnson has earned a spot on the UMD Dean's List over his eight semesters, as well as the UMD Athletic Academic Scholar List. He is a four-time honoree of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award and NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence. A NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award winner, Johnson was also a two-time College Sports Communicator Academic All-District Team member and CSC Academic All-American. Johnson was also recently named the E.L Duce Rasmussen Male Scholar-Athlete Award by the UMD Athletic Department in April.

On campus, Johnson worked as a teacher's assistant in Introduction to Sociology and Psychopathology & Crime classes during his time at UMD. On the gridiron, Johnson is a three-time All-NSIC First Team performer on the offensive line, where he made 42 career starts. He was a part of an offense that produced an NSIC best 2,682 rushing yards (6.28 yards per carry) and led the league in scoring at 37.3 point per game in 2023. During his career he was a part of two conference title teams (2018 and 2021) and teams that compiled a combined record of 45-12. Johnson completed a 300-hour internship with Two Rivers (Wis.) Police Department in 2022 and has volunteered as a World War II Living Historian for multiple Historical Societies throughout Wisconsin and Illinois. He has also volunteer coached at Two Rivers High School Football Summer Practices; at the Annual Black Woods Blizzard Tour ALS Fundraiser; at the Duluth Special Olympics Rock Party Fundraiser; and has packed backpacks at Second Harvest Food Banks.

"I had the pleasure of working with Arik in several classes," said UMD Assistant Professor of History Dr. Natalie Belsky. "He is a very diligent, hardworking, and committed student. He always came to class ready to engage with the material and participated actively in discussion, making insightful and thought-provoking contributions. In fact, he was one of the students I could rely on to be prepared and help lead the conversation. His assignments demonstrated a nuanced understanding of the readings and an analytical approach to the prompts. He was a pleasure to have in class."

This spring, Johnson continued his football career in the international league in Sweden, where he currently resides.
 

About Minnesota Power, ALLETE:

Our bold vision centers on our commitment to climate, customers and communities. We're a clean-energy leader under our EnergyForward strategy, already delivering 50% renewable energy ahead of all other Minnesota utilities. Now we're doubling down on that with a vision to deliver 100% carbon-free energy to customers reliably and affordably by 2050. Learn more at: https://www.mnpower.com/CarbonFreeEnergyVision