Archie Amerson, who won the 1996 Walter Payton Award given to the top player in FCS (I-AA) football, rushed for 2,079 yards on 333 attempts, an average of 6.2 yards per carry, with 25 touchdowns during the 1996 season. His 2,079 rushing yards and 6.2 yards per carry average in 1996 at the time ranked as the second-best totals in (FCS) I-AA history and his 25 touchdowns ranked first in NCAA Division (FCS) I-AA history at the time they were set. He also set various single-season national records during his career with 2,429 all-purpose yards and 25 rushing touchdowns in 1996. His seven rushing/total touchdowns in a single game vs. Weber State on Oct. 5 as well as scoring 42 points still stands as the top mark in FCS/I-AA annals. He was also named to the American Football Coaches Association All-American Team for Division I-AA, The Sports Net­work Division All-American Team and was named Division I-AA Offensive Player of the Year by Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette. Amerson, who went on to play for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League, finished his two-year career at NAU with 526 carries for 3,196 yards (6.1 per rush average) and 37 touchdowns.
 
The San Diego native was inducted into the Northern Arizona Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. He had his jersey retired by NAU in 2014 and is currently on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot.