2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Football Teams release dates:
College Division Team: release/teams
NCAA Division III Team: below
NCAA Division II Team: Wed., Dec. 2
NCAA Division I Team: Thr., Dec. 3
Academic All-America Program Overview & Links
• Academic All-America® Football Teams - Division III
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AUSTIN, Texas – Senior linebacker
Hank Spencer of Mount Union (Ohio) headlines the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III Football Team selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Spencer, a computer science major with a 3.99 grade-point average from Greencastle, Indiana, was voted the CoSIDA Academic All-American® of the Year for Division III football. He becomes the third Mount Union football player to receive the honor, joining Greg Micheli (2008) and Nick Driskill (2012).
The CoSIDA 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 2015-16 Division III Academic All-America® teams program.
Spencer is a member of a Mount Union squad that is currently 12-0 and advanced to the NCAA Division III national playoff quarterfinals for the 24th straight season. This season, he was named the winner of the Gene Slaughter Award as the Ohio Athletic Conference's top linebacker, while also earning All-OAC first-team honors for the second straight year.
So far this season, Spencer has 43 tackles (12 solo) for the Purple Raiders, including 1.5 sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and three pass breakups for the nation's top-ranked defense.
A CoSIDA Academic All-America® second-team honoree and D3football.com All-American in 2014, Spencer earned NCAA Elite 89 honors as the student-athlete with the highest G.P.A. at the NCAA Division III football finals each of the past two seasons. This season, as a finalist for the
William V. Campbell Trophy, the top scholar-athlete award in college football, he has earned an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship.
A three-time team captain, Spencer has aided in a variety of leadership and community service opportunities at Mount Union, including Trick or Treat with the Raiders, Habitat for Humanity and Rodman Public Library. He is also a volunteer for the Alliance Union Avenue Methodist Church.
Twenty-three of the 48 members of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® football teams have a 3.90 or better grade-point average, with five achieving a perfect 4.00 G.P.A. -- Wilmington (Ohio) junior defensive lineman
David Henry, Case Western Reserve senior defensive lineman
Dayton Snyder, Saint John's (Minnesota) junior linebacker
Carter Hanson, Marietta junior defensive back
Corey Hunsberger and Rose-Hulman senior defensive back
Christopher Sander.
The 24 members of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III football first team maintain an average G.P.A of 3.89.
Fifteen individuals are repeat selections on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® football teams, including six who repeated as first-team selections. Six first-team selections this year were second-team selections last year, and there are three second-team selections that were also on the Academic All-America® teams last year.
Austin senior running back
Madison Ross, a senior from Fort Worth, Texas, is a business administration major with a 3.93 G.P.A., earning CoSIDA Academic All-America® first-team honors for the second straight year. Ross earned All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference first-team honors as a running back and honorable-mention all-conference selection as a kick returner. He led the SCAC with 1,014 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, while adding 15 receptions for 195 yards and three scores.
Muhlenberg offensive lineman
Bryan Auvil, a senior from Macungie, Pennsylvania, is a chemistry major with a 3.98 G.P.A., and is a repeat CoSIDA Academic All-America® first-team selection. A three-time All-Centennial Conference first-team selection, Auvil received the conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for the second straight year. He is the leader of an offensive line that enabled the Mules to average nearly 30 points per-game this season.
Wooster offensive lineman
Nick Flannery, a senior from Dayton, Ohio, is a psychology major with a 3.96 G.P.A., and a repeat first-team selection. A four-year starter, he earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference second-team honors this season, his second all-conference selection. He started at center this season for a Wooster offense that averaged 81.0 offensive snaps per-game, tops among NCAC teams and a single-season school record.
St. Thomas (Minnesota) offensive lineman
David Simmet, a senior from Stillwater, Minn., is a business accounting major with a 3.97 G.P.A. and a repeat CoSIDA Academic All-America® first-team selection. A Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference first-team selection, Simmet has been a leader on an offensive line that has enabled the Tommies to average 548.7 yards and 54.9 points per-game, as the 12-0 Tommies have advanced to the NCAA Division III national playoff quarterfinals. The Tommies are 28-5 during Simmet's three seasons as a starter.
St. Scholastica linebacker
Alex Mangan, a senior from Eagan, Minnesota, is a biochemistry (pre-med) major with a 3.85 G.P.A., and a repeat first-team selection. Mangan was named the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, earning All-UMAC first-team honors for the second straight year. He led the Saints with 93 tackles (38 solo), with a team-high 13.5 tackles for-loss, to go along with three sacks, two fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and three pass breakups.
Rose-Hulman defensive back Sander, a senior from Baileyville, Ill., is a chemical engineering major with a 4.00 G.P.A., and a repeat first-team selection. He was an All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference honorable-mention selection this season. Sander finished the season with 40 tackles (29 solo), one interception, a fumble recovery and two forced fumbles, and was part of a Rose-Hulman team that won eight games for the first time since 1988.
Joining Mount Union's Spencer in moving from the CoSIDA Academic All-America® second team last year to the first team this year are Wartburg senior wide receiver
Robbie Anstoetter, Franklin senior offensive lineman
Austin Carlton, Augsburg senior offensive lineman
Zach Swingen, Washington (Missouri) senior kicker
Alex Hallwachs and Rochester senior defensive lineman
Matthew Mender.
Rose-Hulman senior wide receiver
Aaron Abbott, a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection last year, was a second-team honoree this year. Two second-teamers repeated their selections from a year ago -- Wisconsin-Stevens Point senior offensive lineman
Taylor Lucas and Middlebury senior defensive back
Dan Pierce.
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