About the Award
The Dubuque Miners Man of the Year Award is one of the highest honors presented by our organization. It recognizes far more than what a player accomplishes on the football field, it honors the man he chooses to be when the lights are off, the stands are empty, and no one is keeping score.
This award is presented to a member of the Dubuque Miners who represents the values we believe define the Gold Standard: grit, ownership, leadership, determination, service, and commitment to something bigger than himself. It recognizes a man who leads by example, supports his teammates, represents the Miners with pride, and makes a positive impact within his family and community.
Football is temporary. The impact we leave on the people around us can last a lifetime.
Our long-term vision is to grow the Man of the Year Award beyond our own locker room by establishing a scholarship in its name. The goal is to provide financial support to a deserving local student who demonstrates the same qualities this award was built to recognize — leadership, character, perseverance, community involvement, and a commitment to becoming something greater.
As the Dubuque Miners continue to grow, we want this award to grow with us, becoming not only a recognition of the men who wear our jersey, but an investment in the next generation of leaders within our community.
This is what it means to be held to the Gold Standard.
Nick Kelly — 2026 Dubuque Miners Man of the Year
There could not have been a more fitting person to become the first ever recipient of the Dubuque Miners Man of the Year Award than Nick Kelly.
Nick’s impact on the Dubuque Miners goes far beyond being #69, an offensive lineman, or a team captain. He is quite simply one of the best people you could ever hope to have as part of an organization.
Whenever something needs to be done, Nick is there. It doesn’t matter if it is football related, a community event, helping behind the scenes, supporting a teammate, or simply being there when someone needs him. He never asks what is in it for him. He sees a need, and he steps up.
More importantly, that same commitment extends well beyond the football field. Nick has helped his teammates in countless ways outside of football, giving his time, offering support, lending a hand, and being someone others know they can depend on. His leadership isn’t something he turns on for game day. It is simply who he is.
Nick and his family have become a tremendous part of the Miners family as well. Whether it is Nick leading alongside his teammates, Krystal capturing the moments that tell our story, or Dixie growing up around the sidelines, the Kelly family has invested themselves into this organization and helped make it better.
Every organization hopes to have people who care about it as deeply as Nick does. His loyalty, work ethic, selflessness, leadership, and genuine care for the people around him have left an impact that cannot be measured on a stat sheet.
The Man of the Year Award was created to recognize someone who represents what the Gold Standard is supposed to mean, not only as a football player, but as a teammate, a leader, a family man, and a member of the community.
When the history of this award is written years from now, Nick Kelly’s name will always be the first.
And we could not have chosen a better man to set the standard for everyone who comes after him.