CJ Sanderson (2026) - Concordia-St. Paul Athletic Hall of Fame - Concordia University, St. Paul Athletics

Concordia-St. Paul Athletic Hall of Fame

CJ Sanderson

Class

2005
Induction

2026
Sport(s)

Football

CJ Sanderson was a four-year force on the offensive line during Concordia’s strongest stretch of winning football in program history.

With Sanderson paving the way for a powerful running game and protecting for a dynamic passing game, the Golden Bears carried a 33-13 record during his playing career from 2002 to 2005.

He was a key member of Concordia’s two NSIC championship seasons in 2003 and 2005, and helped CSP compile a 24-7 record during NSIC play, finishing no lower than fourth place during his career.

Sanderson and his teammates also presided over a perfect home record during his career, going 19-0 at Griffin Stadium, marking the era as “The Griff Myth” from 2002-05.

He was a member of two of Concordia’s three Mineral Water Bowl squads including the first postseason game in school history in the 2003 season.

The starting tackle was a 2005 All-NSIC First Team pick as a senior while making the Second Team as a junior in 2004. He was named to three different All-Region teams as a senior, earning Second Team honors by Daktronics (now D2CCA), Third Team honors by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette and Honorable Mention honors by D2ootball.com.

He played for a top-15 offense in the country all four years, helping the team rank seventh in the country in total offense as a freshman (447.8 yards/game) in a 9-2 season, the eighth-ranked total offense as a sophomore in an 8-4 NSIC championship campaign, the ninth-ranked total offense (458.8 yards/game) as a junior in a 7-4 season and the 13th-ranked total offense (448.4 yards/game) as a senior in a 9-3 NSIC championship season.

Following his graduation from Concordia with a degree in Kinesiology, Sanderson competed for three years in arena football before turning his career to non-residential treatment care, eventually advancing to his current position with the State of Minnesota as a behavioral modification assistant, helping individuals build life skills, accountability, and personal growth.

Originally from Lakeland, Florida, Sanderson is involved in the Blaine community through coaching youth sports and mentorship through athletics. He and his wife, Stephanie (Westman) B.A. ‘07, M.A. ’11, a CSP women’s basketball player, have four children.