As a junior, he was named the Ann Arbor News Player of the Year, as well as all-area, all-league and all-Livingston county.
Finnerty threw for 459 yards and kicked three field goals in his first playoff game as a junior.
[1] In 2001, Cullen Finnerty redshirted his true freshman year at the University of Toledo.
Finnerty transferred to Grand Valley State University in 2002, but he did not play that season.
In 2003, he joined the Grand Valley Football team for his first year of eligibility as a freshman.
Finnerty was ranked 12th in pass efficiency rating (144.02) and 26th in total offense (256.9) in NCAA Div.
He was ranked 26th in the nation in passing efficiency (138.5), and 42nd in NCAA Division II in total offense per game at 225.4.
[3] With GVSU winning the NCAA Division II National Championship, as a junior Finnerty was named the 2005 GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year, and First-team All-GLIAC Quarterback.
Finnerty was given Honorable Mention on Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-American Team.
Finnerty became the first quarterback in NCAA Division II Championship game history to pass for over 200 yards and also rush for over 100.
[13][14] On the evening of May 28, Finnerty was found dead in the woods by local search crews one mile from his fishing boat in Lake County, Michigan.
An autopsy, released in August 2013, showed Finnerty died of pneumonia brought on by inhalation of vomit after he became disoriented.
[15][failed verification] Finnerty was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.