| Year | Champion | John Gagliardi Trophy Winner |
|---|
| 1973 | Wittenberg | — |
| 1974 | Central College (IA) | — |
| 1975 | Wittenberg (2) | — |
| 1976 | St. John's (MN) | — |
| 1977 | Widener | — |
| 1978 | Baldwin Wallace | — |
| 1979 | Ithaca | — |
| 1980 | Dayton | — |
| 1981 | Widener (2) | — |
| 1982 | West Georgia | — |
| 1983 | Augustana (IL) | — |
| 1984 | Augustana (IL) (2) | — |
| 1985 | Augustana (IL) (3) | — |
| 1986 | Augustana (IL) (4) | — |
| 1987 | Wagner | — |
| 1988 | Ithaca (2) | — |
| 1989 | Dayton (2) | — |
| 1990 | Allegheny | — |
| 1991 | Ithaca (3) | — |
| 1992 | Wisconsin–La Crosse | — |
| 1993 | Mount Union | Jim Ballard,Mount Union (QB) |
| 1994 | Albion | Carey Bender,Coe (RB) |
| 1995 | Wisconsin–La Crosse (2) | Chris Palmer,St. John's (MN) (WR) |
| 1996 | Mount Union (2) | Lon Erickson,Illinois Wesleyan (QB) |
| 1997 | Mount Union (3) | Bill Borchert, Mount Union (QB) |
| 1998 | Mount Union (4) | Scott Hvistendahl,Augsburg (WR, P) |
| 1999 | Pacific Lutheran | Danny Ragsdale,Redlands (QB) |
| 2000 | Mount Union (5) | Chad Johnson,Pacific Lutheran (QB) |
| 2001 | Mount Union (6) | Chuck Moore, Mount Union (RB) |
| 2002 | Mount Union (7) | Dan Pugh, Mount Union (RB) |
| 2003 | St. John's (MN) (2) | Blake Elliott, St. John's (MN) (WR, P, KR) |
| 2004 | Linfield | Rocky Myers,Wesley (DE) (S) |
| 2005 | Mount Union (8) | Brett Elliott,Linfield (QB) |
| 2006 | Mount Union (9) | Josh Brehm,Alma (QB) |
| 2007 | Wisconsin–Whitewater | Justin Beaver,Wisconsin–Whitewater (RB) |
| 2008 | Mount Union (10) | Greg Micheli, Mount Union (QB) |
| 2009 | Wisconsin–Whitewater (2) | Blaine Westemeyer,Augustana (IL) (OT) |
| 2010 | Wisconsin–Whitewater (3) | Eric Watt,Trine (QB) |
| 2011 | Wisconsin–Whitewater (4) | Michael Zweifel,Dubuque (WR) |
| 2012 | Mount Union (11) | Scottie Williams,Elmhurst (IL) (RB) |
| 2013 | Wisconsin–Whitewater (5) | Kevin Burke, Mount Union (QB) |
| 2014 | Wisconsin–Whitewater (6) |
| 2015 | Mount Union (12) | Joe Callahan, Wesley (DE) (QB) |
| 2016 | Mary Hardin–Baylor (vacated) | Carter Hanson, St. John's (MN) (LB) |
| 2017 | Mount Union (13) | Brett Kasper,Wisconsin–Oshkosh (QB) |
| 2018 | Mary Hardin–Baylor | Jackson Erdmann, Saint John's (MN) (QB) |
| 2019 | North Central (IL) | Broc Rutter,North Central (IL) (QB) |
| 2020 | Not held | Not awarded |
| 2021 | Mary Hardin–Baylor (2) | Blaine Hawkins, Central (IA) (QB) |
| 2022 | North Central (IL) (2) | Ethan Greenfield, North Central (IL) (RB) |
| 2023 | Cortland | Luke Lehnen, North Central (IL) (QB) |
| 2024 | North Central (IL) (3) | Luke Lehnen, North Central (IL) (QB) |
