Awarded for | the yearly outstanding men's American football Academic All-America team member |
---|---|
Country | United States and Canada |
Presented by | College Sports Communicators |
History | |
Most recent | Rome Odunze, Washington Nolan Reeve, Colorado Mines Owen Grover, Wartburg Jaden Meizinger, Keiser |
Next ceremony | January 28, 2025 |
Website | academicallamerica.com |
The annually-awarded Football Academic All-America Team Member of the Year is the most outstanding singular college football athlete selected for the Academic All-America Teams in a given year. Selected by the College Sports Communicators (formerly known as College Sports Information Directors of America, or CoSIDA), the Academic All-America program recognizes combined athletic performance and academic achievement excellence of the nation's top student-athletes.
Formerly, an Academic All-District team of honorees based on CSC member nominations and voting was chosen in each of eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. [1] Academic All-District and All-America teams were chosen separately for various levels of collegiate athletic competition (known as divisions). For each division, a set of eight districts was delineated. For the NCAA Division I-level teams for the seasons up to the 2021–22 academic year, districts were as follows: – District 1 (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT), District 2 (DC, DE, KY, MD, NJ, PA, WV), District 3 (NC, TN, VA), District 4 (AL, FL, GA, PR, SC), District 5 (IL, IN, MI, OH), District 6 (AR, IA, LA, MN, MO, MS, MT, ND, SD, WI, WY), – District 7 (CO, ID, KS, NE, NM, NV, OK, TX), District 8 (AK, AZ, CA, HI, OR, UT, WA, Canada). Other divisions use other district groupings. [2] Formerly, only first team All-District honorees made the All-America team ballots. In 2022, the All-District selection process was eliminated, with all eligible nominees being included on the Academic All-America final ballot. In addition, tennis and swimming & diving were added as separate sports from the at-large set of sports. Also, the qualifying grade point average was raised from 3.3 to 3.5. [3]
From 1996 to 2010, this team selection process was held separately for the College and University Divisions. The University Division Academic All-America and Academic All-District teams included eligible participants from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I member schools, while the College Division team included scholar-athletes from all of the following: NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), Canadian universities and colleges and two-year schools. From each team one winner for each sport was chosen from both the College and University Divisions for all twelve Academic All-America teams including football to be the team member of the year. Thus, all twelve Academic All-American teams (men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track & field/cross country, men's baseball, women's softball, men's football, women's volleyball and all remaining sanctioned men's and women's sports as at-large teams) had one Academic All-American of the Year per division. One of these twelve sport-by-sport Academic All-Americans of the year is selected as the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for each division. [4] The most recent football player to win the all-sports honor is Owen Grover of Wartburg College, who received the Division III award for the 2023–24 academic year. [5] [a]
In 2011, the Academic All-America program was expanded from two to four divisions. NCAA Divisions II and III were separated into their own divisions, while the College Division was then restricted to non-NCAA institutions. [6] Most recently, effective with the 2018–19 school year, the College Division was split, with NAIA members now receiving their own set of awards, while in some sports two-year college, Canadian institutions and any other institution not affiliated with the NCAA or NAIA also get a set of rewards under the College Division. [1] However, the football selection process has incorporated Canada into the districts for the other four sets. [2]
Although Nebraska Cornhuskers football has the most Football Academic All-America selections, [7] only Rob Zatechka has earned this award for Nebraska. [8]
Several of the Football Academic All-America of the Year winners have gone on to win the overall Academic All-America of the Year. For Division I, Tommy Vardell (1991), Jim Hansen (1992), Rob Zatechka (1994), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Peyton Manning (1997), Matt Stinchcomb (1998), Chad Pennington (1999), Alex Smith (2004), Barrett Jones (2012), Carson Wentz (2015), Justin Herbert (2019), and Mac Jones (2020–21) all earned the overall award. Before the split, College Division selectees Chris Palmer (1995), T.J. Hess (2001), Josh Lamberson (2005) and Greg Micheli (2008) were overall winners. Since the split, Division II honorees Jason Vander Laan (2015) and John Matocha (2022), as well as Division III winner Owen Grover (2024), have won the overall award. [9] No NAIA honoree has won the all-sports award since the split.
Several have been repeat winners of this award. [8] Justin Herbert is the most recent repeat Division I winner. He was preceded by Tim Tebow and Danny Wuerffel. Before the College Division was divided, its repeat winners included David Gubbrud, Chris Hatcher and Corte McGuffey. Since the split, Ugdam Goya has repeated at Division III and Jake Snodgrass and Cameron Dukes have repeated at NAIA. [8]
† | Indicates winners of the all-sports Academic All-America award. |
School | Awards | |
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Florida | 4 [m 1] | |
MIT | 4 [m 2] | |
Alabama | 3 | |
Colorado Mine | 3 | |
Augustana (South Dakota) | 3 [m 3] | |
Morningside | 3 | |
Mount Union | 3 | |
Northwest Missouri State | 3 | |
Stanford | 3 | |
Arkansas Tech | 2 | |
Lindsey Wilson | 2 [m 4] | |
McPherson | 2 [m 4] | |
Oregon | 2 [m 4] | |
Peru State | 2 | |
Susquehanna | 2 | |
Valdosta State | 2 [m 4] |
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to their student athletes. Around $1.3 billion in athletic scholarship financial aid is awarded to student athletes annually.
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-America team for their sport. Some sports have multiple All-America teams, and list the honorees as members of a first team, second team, or third team.
The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are given the honorific "Academic All-American". Since 1952, College Sports Communicators has bestowed Academic All-American recognition on male and female athletes in Divisions I, II, and III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as well as athletes in the NAIA, other U.S. four-year schools, two-year colleges, and Canadian universities, covering all championship sports. The award honors student-athletes who have performed well academically and athletically while regularly competing for their institution.
College Sports Communicators (CSC) is a membership association for all strategic, creative and digital professionals working in intercollegiate athletics across all levels for colleges, universities and conferences across the United States and Canada. CSC provides year-round leadership, community, professional development, recognition and advocacy for its more than 4,100 members. The organization focused primarily on sports information directors before expanding during the 2022-23 academic year.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose at least a first and second 5-man team. The NABC, TSN and AP choose third teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose at least a first and second 5-man team. The NABC, TSN and AP choose third teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose at least a first and second 5-man team. The NABC, TSN and AP choose third teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose at least a first and second 5-man team. The NABC, TSN and AP choose third teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that will include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose three teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2020 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose three teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), Sporting News (SN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose three teams, while AP and USBWA also list honorable mention selections.