For the fourth time, a Manitoba Bisons football player has won the prestigious Russ Jackson Award, following centre Mark Rauhaus' selection tonight at the U SPORTS football awards gala. Manitoba is now tied with Calgary and McGill for the most Russ Jackson recipients.

Rauhaus becomes the first Bison since Cam Teschuk in 2016 to win the award (Thomas Hall won back-to-back in 2009 and 2010). He also continues the Rauhaus legacy, following his dad Jason's JP Metras Award win in 1991. Mark's aunt Marni is also a former two-time All-Canadian and national champ for the Bisons' volleyball team. 

The Russ Jackson Award is presented to the player in Canadian university football who best exemplifies the attributes of academic achievement, football skill and citizenship. The award is named in honour of Canadian Football Hall of Famer and six-time CFL East Division All-Star with the Ottawa Rough Riders, Russell Stanley Jackson, who played quarterback for McMaster in the 1950s.

Rauhaus certainly fits the bill, regarded by his coaches and peers as a well-rounded and impactful student-athlete willing to learn at every opportunity. He is diligent, considerate, extremely dedicated to his sport, studies, and community service.

In addition to the heavy training demands the sport of football requires, Rauhaus has selflessly dedicated his time to helping others off the field, and has devoted himself to becoming a better leader. In spring of 2023, he was selected to the President Student Leadership Program, a prestigious program with a cohort of just 22 students selected annually from across Manitoba. Through this program, he had the opportunity to travel across the province to network and learn from a variety of influential leaders.

As part of the leadership program, Rauhaus spearheaded an initiative to help New Directions, a social work organization. He piloted a project that integrates independent skills workshops into the supported independent living program, supporting people with intellectual and physical disabilities.

Throughout the summer, Rauhaus worked closely with participants and identified financial skills as an area of need and interest. In conjunction with SEED Winnipeg, he was able to formulate a financial skills curriculum.

In addition to his summer research position and extensive summer training, Mark devoted three to four hours/week to this initiative. This project was quite personal to Rauhaus, as his brother has autism.

For the 2023-2024 academic year, Mark was also elected by his peers to be on the UMAC executive as the Director of Bisons Against Bullying. This program brings Bisons student-athletes into schools to share stories and lessons about bullying, and to encourage bystanders to speak up and step in to put an end to bullying. 

Mark is also a scholarship athlete at the University of Manitoba and a recipient of respected awards that directly relate to leadership and teamwork criteria. 

He is a two-time recipient of the Nick Laping memorial award, which is given to a player with high academic standing who has demonstrated exceptional athletic ability in football, team leadership and integrity who also volunteers their time in community outreach programs. In 2021 Mark was selected by a committee to receive the First and Ten award, this is given to a player who demonstrated team leadership, integrity, and exceptional athletic ability in football, while also maintaining high academic standing. 

He has spent two summers working in academic research labs that studied Biophysics of proteins, Covid viral protein studies, and developed a streamlined method that detects white blood cell activity in mice with the goal of learning about HIV infection routes. Currently he is interviewing with Medical Microbiology, Cytophage and Health Canada for his next Co-op Term this Winter. 

"The Russ Jackson Award is arguably one of the top two awards in university football, that and the Hec Crighton [national player of the year]. I think this award transcends him, and our football program and Bison Sports. Mark is representing our university, and he exemplifies what is good and right," said head coach Brian Dobie. 

"I think this award says something about the students at our university. This is the fourth time a Bison has been recognized, which ties for the most of any school. I think Mark is a tremendous, leader, student, athlete and person at the University of Manitoba. He wouldn't be the recipient of this award if he wasn't a good football player, but it goes far beyond his abilities on the football field. He's an extraordinary person who is willing to do what most of us just simply aren't willing to do."