- 1981 and 1982 Outland Trophy Winner
- 1982 Lombardi Award Winner
The only player ever to win the Outland Trophy in consecutive years (1981 and 1982), Dave Rimington is one of the most decorated offensive linemen in college football history.
The 6-foot-3, 290-pound center was a two-time first-team All-American in 1981 and 1982 and is one of just 13 Huskers to have his jersey retired. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997, while his No. 50 jersey was retired by Nebraska in 1982.
A three-time first-team All-Big Eight choice from 1980 to 1982, Rimington was named the Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year in 1981, marking the only time in conference history that a lineman has earned the prestigious honor. During his career, the Omaha South grad helped the Huskers win back-to-back Big Eight titles in 1981 and 1982, as Nebraska led the nation in rushing during his senior season.
A four-year letterman and three-year starter, Rimington was named team captain and capped his senior season by winning the 1982 Lombardi Award. Also, a two-time first-team academic All-American, Rimington was honored by the NCAA as a Top-Five Student-Athlete and was selected as a National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete in 1982. He was also a three-time first-team academic All-Big Eight choice from 1980 to 1982. In 1999, he was selected to the Walter Camp All-Century team.
Most recently, Rimington became the first Nebraska student-athlete in history to be inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame. Rimington claimed that distinguished honor in 2004.
A first-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1983, Rimington played five seasons with the Bengals, and played two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles before retiring in 1989.
Rimington is the president of the Boomer Esiason Foundation and resides in New York. In 2000, the first Rimington Award sponsored by the Boomer Esiason Foundation to honor college football's center of the year was presented to Nebraska center Dominic Raiola, whose jersey No. 54 was retired in 2002. The annual award is presented in Lincoln.