Former NDSU track & field All-American Benji Phillips is one of 42 student-athletes nationwide to be selected as an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner for the 2023 spring season.

Phillips’ award marks the 50th prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship earned by North Dakota State student-athletes since the program’s inception in 1964. This is the 11th NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for the Bison men’s track & field program.

The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are at least in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. The one-time scholarships of $10,000 are awarded three times per year corresponding to each sport season (fall, winter and spring).  Each sports season, there are only 21 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships available for men and 21 for women across the country.

Phillips, from Glasgow, Montana, was named to the CSC Academic All-America third team this year after posting a 4.0 cumulative GPA as a double major in psychology and exercise science. He received the NCAA Elite 90 Award in 2021 and 2023 for owning the highest cumulative GPA of any men’s athlete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

“Benji has been an amazing representative of our program and our university for quite a while now, and we are thrilled for him to earn this award,” said NDSU director of track & field Stevie Keller. “He is everything we want our Bison athletes to be – a high achiever in both athletics competition and academics, and a great teammate with great character.”

Phillips earned first-team All-America honors in the javelin in 2021, placing eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He finished 16th in the javelin at the national meet this June to cap his collegiate career. Phillips was a two-time Summit League champion and two-time runner-up in the javelin, and he stands at No. 2 on the NDSU all-time list in the event.