Mitch Allen Named FCDS ADA Scholar-Athlete of the Year
March 21, 2012, 11:29:00 AM
CLEVELAND – Mitch Allen, a quarterback from Wofford College and Ben Boothby, a tackle from the University of Northern Iowa, have been chosen as the recipients of the 11th Annual Division I Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
Each will receive a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship. The duo was selected from a group of twelve finalists. They will receive their awards during the Association’s annual membership meeting being held in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Convention, being held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas, June 25-28.
Allen was named to the FCS ADA All-Star team and the Southern Conference (SoCon) Fall All-Academic Team three straight years, earned the team’s award for highest GPA twice and was on the SoCon Academic Honor Roll each year, along with being selected to Phi Beta Kappa. He is currently working for General Electric and plans to earn his MBA.
“Each year, the FCS ADA is proud to honor its deserving student-athletes with the Academic All-Star team in early January. The selection of the Postgraduate Scholarship recipients marks the culmination of our annual process and we want to congratulate both Mitch and Ben on receiving this year’s Scholarships,” said FCS ADA President Marilyn McNeil, chair of the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team Selection Committee and vice-president/director of athletics at Monmouth University. “Each year, the committee is tasked with selecting two individuals from a plethora of deserving scholar-athletes, which is a reflection of the importance of academic success within Division I FCS institutions.”
Boothby, who plans on attending medical school, received his undergraduate degree in kinesiology in May 2011. On the field, Boothby started all 12 games and led UNI with 7.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss. Overall, he had 75 tackles, recovered a fumble and helped UNI’s defense hold opponents to just 16.6 points per game, which ranked fourth overall in the FCS. His 16 tackles for loss led the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). Boothby is a two-time first-team All-MVFC recipient, two-time first-team MVGC All-Academic selection and a second-team Capital One Academic All-America pick.
There were a total of 58 FCS players selected to the Academic All-Star Team in January. Nominees were required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or key player with legitimate athletics credentials. They must have reached their second year of athletics and academic standing at the nominated institution and have completed a minimum of one full academic year at the nominated institution. They must also have participated in 50 percent of the games played at their designated position.
A special Review Committee of Football Championship Subdivision athletics directors was responsible for selecting the all-star team and scholarship finalists. Completing this task were Marilyn McNeil, Monmouth (chair); Greg Burke, Northwestern State; Charlie Cobb, Appalachian State; Brian Hutchinson, Morehead State; Ron Strollo, Youngstown State; and Jeff Tingey, Idaho State.
About the FCS ADA: Now in its 19th year, the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association’s mission is to enhance Football Championship Subdivision football. For more information on the FCS ADA, please visit www.fcsada.com. The FCS ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 47th year. For more information on NACDA and the 12 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
Brad Loesing Named First Team Academic All-America
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Brad Loesing Named First Team Academic All-America SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford College men’s basketball student-athlete Brad Loesing has been named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Division I Men’s Basketball First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Joining Loesing on the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Division I Men’s Basketball first team are sophomore guard Aaron Craft of Ohio State, junior guard Matthew Dellavedova of Saint Mary’s University (Cal.), senior forward Tyler Zeller of the University of North Carolina, and junior forward Mason Plumlee of Duke.
Loesing, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, has started all 30 games at point guard for the Terriers this season. He is averaging 14.6 points per game and 5.6 assists per game. He is ranked third in the Southern Conference in assists, seventh in scoring, and first in minutes played.
For his career at Wofford, he has started a school record 127 of 129 games played. This week at UNCG he became the 42nd player in school history to reach the 1,000 career point milestone and he is also third in school history in career assists. Loesing is majoring in business economics with a 3.90 grade point average. He has been selected to Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious liberal arts honor society.
The last Wofford student-athlete to earn Academic All-America honors was Lauren Bosshardt, who was named to the third team for women’s track and cross country in 2008. Katon Bethay was the most recent Terrier to earn first team honors in 2005 for football. Greg O’Dell is the only other men’s basketball player to be named Academic All-America, honored on the third team in 1992.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports. For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.