Nicholas J. Hartigan (2018) - Hall of Fame - Brown University Athletics

Nicholas J. Hartigan

Induction:
2018
Class:
2006

As the season wound down to the final weeks with the Ivy League championship on the horizon, Nick Hartigan ’06 was faced with a dilemma; take the Rhodes Scholarship interview on the final weekend of the season or play in Brown’s final game against Columbia. The interview was scheduled for either Friday or Saturday on the final weekend. Hartigan’s immediate response was to play football with his band of brothers.

As it turned out, Hartigan was able to take his Rhodes Scholarship interview on Friday in Pittsburgh and fly to New York City for the Columbia game, a 52-21 Brown victory, which gave the Bears their first outright Ivy League Championship.

As the heart and soul of the 2005 Ivy championship team, Hartigan was one of the most decorated players in Brown football history and the epitome of the student-athlete.

A top three finalist for the Walter Payton Award as the nation’s top player, Hartigan was named a First Team All-American by the Sports Network, Walter Camp, AP, and the AFCA. The unanimous selection for Ivy League Player of the Year, Hartigan earned the Harry Agganis/Harold Zimman Award as the outstanding football player in New England, and was named the ECAC Division I FCS Player of the Year.

As a senior, Hartigan led the nation in rushing with 172.70 yards per game and was a six time Ivy League Player of the Week. He also led the nation in scoring with 12.0 points per game and ranked fourth nationally in all-purpose yards (180.10 per game).

Brown’s all-time leading rusher with 4,492 yards, third best in Ivy League history, Hartigan ran for 100 or more yards 23 times in his career and 200 or more yards six times. Upon graduation, Hartigan was the Ivy League record holder in career rushing touchdowns (52), career touchdowns (54) and career points (324).

A Political Science and History concentrator, Hartigan earned the prestigious National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Award, earning an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship presented at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Hartigan was an NCAA Top VIII Award recipient, earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and was the Academic All-American of the Year by CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine. He was a two-time First Team Academic All-American, a three-time NCAA Division I FCS Academic All-Star and a three-time Academic All-Ivy selection.