Dayton’s Moell named 2025 Armed Forces Merit Award recipient

Dayton’s Moell named 2025 Armed Forces Merit Award recipient

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (FWAA) – Levi Moell, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and running back at the University of Dayton, has been selected as the 14th recipient of the Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the Football Writers Association of America.

The official announcement of Moell as the 2025 AFMA recipient was made on the 2:15 p,m ET edition of SportsCenter on ESPN. Following the on-air announcement, the University of Dayton Sports Information Office will host a Zoom teleconference with Moell and Flyer head coach Trevor Andrews.

Brant Ringler, Executive Director of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, and Bill Bender, FWAA President and The Sporting News national college football reporter, will join Moell and Andrews on the teleconference to congratulate the 2025 recipient of the Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the FWAA.

“When the bowl staff created the award, our main goal was to honor individuals with a military background who have an impact on their team and school,” said Ringler. “In reviewing the supporting documents for Levi’s nomination, along with news clippings, he is the individual who has created a lasting impact on his team.”

Bender added, “While Levi does not have the statistics on the field, his numbers add up off-the-field with his teammates and coaches. I am impressed by comments about Levi serving as a team leader in showing the younger players the ropes in an area where he was getting on-the-job training for his chosen field.”

With Moell being a Health Science major at Dayton, Andrews said that with “Levi’s experience in the military and his desire for a job in the field of strength and conditioning, I created a specific role for him, and he excelled. He lifted with our freshmen and showed them the ropes by providing leadership in technique, attitude, and effort.”

In a Dayton Daily News article on August 27, he was asked about choosing the U.S. Marine Corps over college after a standout career at West Liberty Salem High, where he played three years of football and was the team's MVP, earning second-team All-Ohio honors. “I just felt the need to serve,” said Moell, who served four years in the military.

“Levi came to our football program as a try-out walk-on,” said Andrews in his recommendation letter. “The years on the team that followed, I’m sure, did not feel like an easy path, but he has always persevered. I’m sure he experienced personal disappointments and likely felt overlooked on many occasions. Levi never let the frustration and disappointment deter him. His positive attitude and self-confidence never wavered. He has always pushed on and kept his focus on finding a significant role on the team.”

Dayton running backs coach Mark Ewald added that Moell is called “the old man. He embraces it like a trooper, and you can tell he has a blast as he uses it to be a servant leader in the room. He has had a unique journey to get to this point. As he approaches graduation, marking the end of another chapter in his life, he is enjoying the camaraderie, the process, and the competition. Levi is a selfless, elite teammate. As a coach who has 47 seasons under his belt, Levi is what epitomizes the victories of the coaching calling.”

At the end of his recommendation for Moell, Andrews said, “He has always been proactive in his own development, which in turn has created an iron sharpens iron mentality within his position group. I have seen his work ethic and dedication rub off on our younger players, and Levi strives to reach beyond his physical potential.

“Our football team has benefited more from Levi Moell than he has benefited from being a part of our team. Through his consistent approach and dedication to every aspect of his life, he truly deserves your consideration for the Armed Forces Merit Award. I am sure there are many deserving of the honor, but I believe Levi will again defy all odds and rise to the top.”

Previous recipients of the Armed Forces Merit Award are Nate Boyer of the University of Texas (2012), Brandon McCoy of the University of North Texas (2013), Daniel Rodriguez from Clemson University (2014), Bret Robertson of Westminster College (Fulton, Mo., 2015), Steven Rhodes from Middle Tennessee State University (2016), Dr. Chris Howard from Robert Morris University (2018), Army West Point assistant coach Mike Viti (2019), Collin O’Donnell of Bluefield College of Virginia, (2020), Damien Jackson of the University of Nebraska (2021),Tyler Huff of Furman University (2023) and Dr. Jack Hawkins Jr., the Chancellor of Troy  University (2024).

Kansas State and its football team were honored in 2017 as the sixth recipient of the Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the FWAA for the university’s partnership with the United States Army, which created a bond between the school’s athletic department and the Iron Rangers at nearby Fort Riley. The Paris Johnson Jr. Foundation won the award in 2022– the consensus All-American from Ohio State coordinates a group to aid senior veterans.

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In the 2025-26 academic year, the 35-event schedule includes three early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, two college volleyball events, the premier regular-season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship.

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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) comprises 1,300 journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives  from all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team.

Contacts:
Tim Simmons, Armed Forces Merit Award Coordinator, 720/244-6580, bfishinc@aol.com
Steve Richardson, Football Writers Association of America, 214/870-6516, tiger@fwaa.com
Drew Harris, Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, 254/716-8573, drew@firstpitchpr.com
Ross Bagienski, University of Dayton, 937/229-4431, rbagienski1@udayton.edu