2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Football Teams release dates: 
College Division Team: teams/release
NCAA Division III Team: below
NCAA Division II Team: Wed., Dec. 3
NCAA Division I Team: Thr., Dec. 4
• Capital One Academic All-America® website
Note: The 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Volleyball Teams will be announced Dec. 8-11.
• Capital One Academic All-America® Football Team - Division III PDF version Word doc version
Senior quarterback
Michael Bates of Illinois College headlines the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Football Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
A biology major with a 3.88 G.P.A., Bates was selected as the winner of the Capital One Division III Academic All-America® of the Year award for football.
The Capital One Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2013-14 Division III Academic All-America ® teams program.
A senior from Auburn, Illinois,
Bates was a threat as both a passer and a rusher for the Blueboys, who finished 7-3 in 2014. Bates completed 235-of-386 passes for 3,008 yards and 32 touchdowns against just nine interceptions, while also leading the team in rushing attempts (152) and yardage (660), tying for the team lead with eight rushing touchdowns.
His 300.8 passing yardage per-game average ranks 11th among NCAA Division III quarterbacks, while his 366.8 yards of total offense per-game ranks fourth nationally. His 24.6 “points responsible for” per-game is tops among all Division III players. He also ranks fourth nationally in overall “points responsible for” (244), sixth in passing touchdowns (32) and 10th in passing yards (3,008).
A three-time All-Midwest Conference first-team selection, Bates finished his career as the active career passing yardage leader among all Division III players with a school-record 10,787 yards. He also holds the school’s record for passing touchdowns with 107.
Bates was selected as one of 10 semifinalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, awarded to the outstanding NCAA Division III football player. He was also named as a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, awarded by the National Football Foundation to the nation’s top football scholar-athlete.
In addition to his achievements on the football field, he has also been active in community service. On campus, he has been both secretary and vice president of the IC Brothers and Sisters in Christ organization, while also raising money for the Jacksonville (Illinois) Pregnancy Resource Center. He has also made numerous mission trips and co-founded the Stronghold Mission Group in his hometown of Auburn, Illinois.
Twenty-one of the 49 members of the Capital One Academic All-America ® football teams have a 3.90 or better G.P.A., with three achieving a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. --
Rose-Hulman junior defensive back and first-teamer Christopher Sander,
Trine senior defensive lineman and
first-teamer Aaron Wolf, and
MIT sophomore offensive lineman and second-teamer Elliot Tobin.
The 25 members of the Capital One Academic All-America ® Division III football first team maintain an average G.P.A of 3.88.
Five individuals are repeat selections on the Capital One Academic All-America ® football teams, led by
Rose-Hulman senior offensive lineman Nicholas Buchta, a three-time selection who was named to the first team this season after being named to the second team in both 2012 and 2013. A native of North Barrington, Illinois, Buchta is a mechanical engineering major with a 3.92 G.P.A.
A three-year starter, Buchta was part of an offensive line for the Fightin’ Engineers that set 20 team and 17 individual single-game or single-season records in 2014. As a team, Rose-Hulman is ranked 11th nationally in total offense yardage per-game (497.0) and fifth in passing offense yardage per-game (345.8). He was named to the All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference second team this season.
Repeating as a first-team honoree in 2014 is
St. Scholastica senior defensive lineman Blake Cedarleaf. A native of Mahtomedi, Minnesota, Cedarleaf is a biology major with a 3.88 G.P.A. A three-time All-Upper Midwest Athletic Conference first-team selection, Cedarleaf finished the season with 61 tackles (23 solo), including 5.0 tackles for-loss and 3.0 sacks for a St. Scholastica squad that finished 10-1, reaching the NCAA Division III national playoffs and winning the UMAC title for the fourth straight season. He set a school record with 14.5 career sacks.
Augsburg senior defensive lineman Chris DeVet moved up from the second team to the first team this season. A native of Shoreview, Minnesota, DeVet is a chemistry major with a 3.80 G.P.A. A three-time All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection (first team in 2013 and 2014, second team in 2012), DeVet earned the MIAC’s Mike Stam Award as the conference’s top interior lineman in 2014. DeVet finished his senior season with 53 tackles (22 solo), including 5.5 sacks and 12 tackles for-loss, both second-most among MIAC players in overall statistics. He finished his career with 168 tackles (71 solo), including 32.5 tackles for-loss and 13.0 sacks.
Two student-athletes repeated as second-team Academic All-America ® selections --
John Carroll senior defensive back Brody Zangaro and
Waynesburg senior linebacker John Sikora.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
Zangaro is an education major with a 3.79 G.P.A. An All-Ohio Athletic Conference first-team selection this season after earning honorable-mention honors last year, Zangaro has 52 tackles (27 solo), including a team-best 10.5 tackles for-loss for the 11-1 Blue Streaks, competing in the NCAA Division III national playoffs. He claimed interceptions on back-to-back drives in JCU’s 66-13 win over Otterbein on Nov. 8.
A native of Campbell, Ohio,
Sikora is a history major with a 3.97 G.P.A. Sikora earned All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference honorable-mention honors for the third time in his career in 2014. He finished the season with 63 tackles (41 solo), including 4.5 tackles for-loss, a sack and a forced fumble for the Yellowjackets, who finished 8-3.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University (
Jeff.Schwartz@ndsu.edu) (701) 231-8332
Academic All-America ® Co-Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications
Don Stoner, Augsburg College (
stoner@augsburg.edu) (612) 330-1677
Academic All-America ® Coordinator of Publicity