July 2, 2019
Statement From Alfred University:
ALFRED, NY – Senior linebacker, Nick Milgate (Hilton, NY/Hilton) has been chosen by the Alfred University football coaching staff to wear the #32 for the 2019 season, honoring fallen NYS Trooper Nicholas F. Clark ’11.
The AU football staff named Milgate to wear #32 in honor of Clark, who was killed in the line of duty exactly one year ago on July 2, 2018 while responding to a service call in Erwin, NY. Following Clark’s tragic death, the AU football program has designated one player that best represents the values of Clark, on and off the field, to wear #32 in his honor.
While at AU, Clark was a record-setting All-American outside linebacker and team captain who led the Saxons to back-to-back NCAA Division III Playoffs. Outside of the lines, Clark was a stellar student, dedicated to the Alfred community.
“Nick Milgate was chosen to wear #32 because he loves the game of football and is a fierce competitor,” Head Football Coach, Bob Ranklsaid. “He is also a great leader who excels in the classroom and in the weight room. These are characteristics that a epitomize what Nick Clark was all about as a great player and as a great leader in our program.”
Milgate is the second AU player to participate in the #32 program, following in the footsteps of graduated teammate and now, linebackers coach Cole Reed ’19. Milgate has been a starter for the Saxons since 2017 where he racked up 80 tackles and five interceptions from the outside linebacker position. He solidified his dominance in 2018, recording 96 total tackles, ranking fourth overall in the Empire 8 and earning a spot on the Empire 8 All-Conference Honorable Mention for the second consecutive year.
Milgate has excelled in the classroom as well, earning Empire 8 President’s List honors (GPA of 3.75 or higher) three of the last four semesters and earning induction into Chi Alpha Sigma – the prestigious student-athlete academic society. Milgate majors in Health & Fitness Management.
“Nick Clark is a role model in both the sport of football and everyday life,” Milgate said when asked about what it means to wear the #32 at AU. “Having the privilege to represent someone like him is an absolute honor and motivates me even more for the upcoming season.”
In addition to the #32 program, AU athletics renamed the “Ideal Saxon Award” – the program’s most prestigious award given to one male and one female student-athlete each year at the end of the year banquet – to the Nicholas F. Clark ’11 Ideal Saxon Award. Winners of the award can be found on a plaque within the main atrium in the McLane Center.
Milgate and the Saxons open the 2019 season on the road against Thiel College on September 7 at 1PM. The home opener will be one week later against George Fox University (Ore.). Kickoff is at 1PM in Yunevich Stadium.
