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He was one of the most successful quarterbacks to put on a brown and gold jersey, and now former Southwest Minnesota State University, then Southwest State University, quarterback Jeff Loots will be recognized as one of the best of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Loots, a three-year letterwinner with SMSU, will join six others as the most recent members of the NSIC Hall of Fame.

"It's really exciting," Loots said. "It basically goes down as a whole team effort, from the receivers that I had and the offensive line to all the coaches, and especially the offense coach (Brent) Jeffers put together."

Loots will be joined by Lee Albrecht of Bemidji State, Linda Larson of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Dean Bowyer of Minnesota State University-Mankato, Frank Mosier from MSU-Moorhead, Henry Schneider of Northern University and David Ludy of Winona State University on July 31 at the Best Western Kelly Inn in St. Cloud.

"It's a proud moment, not just for me, but for the whole team," Loots said. "Without those guys, I wouldn't have gotten close to the numbers that I did and get the wins that we got there."

Loots currently holds over 20 school records and finished his career as one of the most winningest quarterbacks in SMSU history.

He finished his career with the Mustangs completing 703 of 1,224 pass attempts for 10,116 and 102 touchdowns, all of which were school records. He was first team NAIA All-America in 1992, second team in 1991 and a honorable mention in 1990, while also being named to the second team AP Little All-America in 1992.

Loots was the first player in conference history to be named the Most Valuable Player on two occasion (1990 and 1992), while also being named a first team all-conference quarterback for three years.

The St. Paul-native was 22-5 as a starter for the Mustangs and his career at SMSU was cut short in his final season in 1992 when he suffered a shoulder injury in week eight, which kept him from playing his final games of his collegiate career.

"It was really hard because I was on pace to have the best season that I ever had number-wise," he said. "We were winning and doing really well."

In that season, Loots passed for 2,927 yards and 29 touchdowns in just seven complete games. Despite the injury, Loots was ranked as the seventh best passer in 1993 National Football League Draft class by College Football Analyst and NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. The draft class included 10 quarterbacks who went on to see time in the NFL.

Former New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe was the top-ranked quarterback, but Loots was ranked higher than former Chicago Bear Shane Matthews, former Buffalo Bill Alex Van Pelt, former St, Louis Ram and Kansas City Chief Trent Green and current San Francisco 49er backup Jamie Martin.

"I just learned so much (playing at SSU)," Loots said. "From high school I was in a run-featured offense and I didn't even have any of the basics down - reading coverages and different things like that"

Kiper also named Loots as the No. 1 sleeper of all positions in the draft.

"(The injury) really hurt me a lot for the draft," Loots said. "I was pretty much out for the whole year."

Loots was never drafted in the NFL, but continued his career as he signed with the Toronto Argonauts before playing eight seasons with the Arena Football League, one of which in his home state with the Minnesota Fighting Pike.

"I just feel fortunate and thank God everyday for the opportunity to do that," said Loots on playing professional football. "I made some pretty good money doing it, made a lot of good friends and ended up meeting my wife in New York."

He finished his career with 5,873 passing yards and 100 touchdowns and was part of an AFL championship team with the Albany Firebirds in 1999.

His football career ended in 2004 with the Grand Rapids Rampage and now, he works as a territory manager for Professional Medical, a company that sells medical equipment and supplies.

"You take it for granted when you are doing it because there is a lot of stress in (the AFL)," Loots said. "It's a lot different when you're playing when you're not getting paid, but it beats going to work everyday like I had to experience a couple years ago after I ended up leaving the league."

Loots' performance on the field was second to none during his time with the Mustangs, and as a result, he became one of the most decorated quarterbacks to walk the SMSU campus.

But on July 31, Loots will add one more milestone to his already impressive football career, a member of the NSIC Hall of Fame.