Ray and Deborah Gronowski, Mark Gronowski’s parents, helped to mold his football career. In addition, Ray Gronowski, his father, played football for Drake University in the middle of the 1980s.
Born on October 5, 2001, Mark Gronowski plays quarterback for the Iowa Hawkeyes in college football. He was formerly a member of South Dakota State.
In his senior year at Dakota State, he ran for 846 yards and 12 touchdowns and completed 132 of 194 pass attempts for 1,663 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Gronowski accepted South Dakota State’s offer of a Division I scholarship to play collegiate football.
In addition to Division II Quincy and Bemidji State, he rejected offers from Butler and Valparaiso, who compete in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League.
Additionally, he received walk-on offers from Stanford, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Iowa. On January 7, 2025, Gronowski declared his intention to transfer to Iowa.
Additionally, the Iowa athletic department announced this afternoon that Mark Gronowski “will have surgery in the coming weeks and will not begin on-field team workouts until June.”
Mark Gronowski vs North Dakota State, FCS National Championship @mgronowski11 pic.twitter.com/2nf4EnPSVM
— 💤 (@hawkeyemuse) January 5, 2025
Born Into an Athletic Family, Mark Gronowski Was Brought up by His Parents, Ray and Deborah
The parents of Mark Gronowski, Ray and Deborah Gronowski, raised him in Naperville, Illinois.
Furthermore, Mark’s parents raised him alongside his older sister, Sarah, and older brother, Ryan Gronowski.
Remarkably, both of his siblings participated in Division 1 sports while attending college.
His brother Ryan began Special Olympics Illinois in 2005 at the age of eight, playing basketball, and his sister Sarah played softball at Butler University.
Ryan’s current sports include basketball, Unified soccer, softball, track and field, swimming, flag football, and floor hockey.
Born into a family of athletes, Gronowski’s parents have always been there for him and have helped shape his athletic career.
Proud to be a part of the Lemonhead Challange @NM_Financial @AlexLemonade @mgronowski11 #SDSU pic.twitter.com/N5GuMF0ocZ
— Ray Gronowski (@RayGronowski) January 3, 2024
In addition, his father, Ray, played football for Drake University, where he earned an MBA in management from 1985 to 1986 and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and finance from 1981 to 1985.
It was clear that his father, who always supported his kids, had instilled in him a love of football from an early age.
With over 14 years of experience, Ray is currently a Vice President of Market Engagement at Realtors Property Resource (RPR).
Before this, he spent almost 16 years as a sector vice president at Prudential Real Estate and Senior Vice President of Real Estate Sales & Business Development at Listingbook.
Happy 22nd Birthday Mark! Birthdays are not just about getting older but reflecting on the amazing journey you’ve had so far! Keep shining on and off the field. 💙💛 ~ your biggest fans. @mgronowski11 @RayGronowski pic.twitter.com/QWIDCd1lUr
— Deborah Gronowski (@debgronowski) October 5, 2023
Deborah, Gronowski’s mother, lives a quiet life but frequently encourages and supports her kids.
Similarly, both of Mark’s parents frequently mention them in their social media posts.
Additional Information
- Mark Gronowski stands 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 meters) tall and weighs 230 pounds (104 kilograms).
- Gronowski earned the title of the game’s Most Valuable Player after dominating the Bison.
- Mark Gronowski is dating Katherine Jones, a soccer player at SDSU.
