Hard-charging fullback Doug Steiner did not letter his freshman year, yet graduated as Grove City College’s all-time rushing leader, won Presidents' Athletic Conference and team Most Valuable Player awards and received All-America honors following the 1997 season.
As a junior, the Orrville, Ohio, native became the College’s first 1,000-yard rusher when he amassed 1,073 yards in just nine games. Steiner highlighted his record-breaking season by running for a school record 257 yards in the Homecoming win over Thiel, earning him the first of two Jim Cross Memorial Trophy honors.
As senior co-captain, the 5-foot-9, 190-pounder helped lead Grove City to a school-record nine victories, the program’s first-ever PAC title and a berth in the ECAC Southwest Bowl. Steiner ran for 1,490 yards and tied the NCAA Division III single-season record with 29 rushing touchdowns.
Five of those touchdowns came in a 42-30 Homecoming victory over Waynesburg. He also played a major role in Grove City’s 31-28 come-from-behind upset of W&J at Thorn Field, scoring a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Number 36 closed his career with 200-yard rushing efforts in wins at Alfred and Denison.
The league’s head football coaches selected Steiner as the PAC’s MVP in 1997. He earned All-America honors from Don Hansen’s Football Gazette and Hewlett-Packard. Steiner graduated as Grove City’s all-time leader with 2,726 rushing yards.
He earned the College's Sportsman of the Year award for 1997-98 and also received a Christian Servant Award. Steiner graduated in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in business management.
