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Strengthened eligibility criteria, new timing for nominations and a smaller national ballot are among important changes for the Academic All-America® program
The College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® awards program will feature stronger eligibility criteria, new timing for nominations and a reduction in the number of student-athletes on the national ballot for the 2023-24 academic year.
At the direction of the Executive Board of Directors, a working group was formed in April to study the overall program. After surveying the entire CSC membership, the working group forwarded four recommendations to the Board, which were approved in September.
“The Executive Board had two requests of the Academic All-America working group, specifically that the entire CSC membership be given an opportunity for feedback on the program and that the national ballot be streamlined to allow members to reasonably review and select deserving Academic All-America teams. These recommendations address those directives and reflect the hard work of the committee and the important input from members,” said CSC President
John Paquette.
The following approved recommendations will take effect starting this November beginning with 2023 fall sports (men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball and football). Criteria and master calendar dates for winter and spring contests will be released when finalized.
1. Athletic eligibility criteria for all-district submissions will change from "starter or key reserve" to 90% games/contests/sets played or 66% games started as of the nomination date for team sports. Similar criteria will be developed for individual sports and for unique situations like innings pitched in baseball and softball.
- Rationale: Increasing the athletic eligibility criteria with an objective measure will eliminate student-athletes who should not be considered for Academic All-American honors and prevent the nomination of student-athletes with an eligible GPA but minimal athletic criteria.
2. Advancement from Academic All-District submission status to the Academic All-America ballot will be accomplished by a sport or division-specific committee that reviews submissions and determines the appropriate student-athletes to advance. These committees, which will feature members of the core Academic All-America Committee, will have guidelines to assist with decisions.
- Rationale: Using an objective sport-specific selection committee to advance Academic All-District submissions to the national ballot guarantees the most elite student-athletes will be on a more manageable ballot, both in the number and quality of nominees. While all submissions will be awarded Academic All-District honors, not all will be advanced to a national ballot.
3. The 12-month residency requirement for undergraduate transfers is eliminated.
- Rationale: Deserving undergraduate transfer student-athletes will now be eligible for Academic All-American honors. The evolution of this decision falls in line with the evolution of the transfer rule and the new realities of modern intercollegiate athletics.
4. Academic All-District submission periods for contests will open at the conclusion of the Division I regular season in the respective sports.
- Rationale: Survey results overwhelmingly confirmed that CSC members think it is most important to have enough statistical information and season accolades available to complete a solid and viable submission for Academic All-America consideration. Moving the windows to the conclusion of the regular season in Division I will allow for more robust information and statistics to be included.
“The history and stature of CSC's Academic All-America awards meant the working group had to be passionate yet pragmatic about the program. With the overarching goal to ensure the most elite student-athletes are selected for Academic All-American status, this group listened to all the stakeholder groups — most importantly the membership — and carefully considered program changes that would guarantee the relevance of this award to student-athletes and their schools for years to come,” said
Mitch Blankespoor, chair of the Academic All-America Core Committee and the working group. “Secondarily, these adjustments ensure a better experience for CSC's dedicated membership that nominates, votes and promotes the very best student-athletes in the country.”
The changes followed the working group’s efforts, including membership survey feedback, which was completed this summer by 751 members. The following findings were among the results:
- Athletic criteria for nomination and selection should be raised and better quantified and the ballot should be significantly smaller.
- Members want to submit better, more complete nominations.
- The desire for eligibility for undergraduate transfers is split almost evenly among members.
- It is important to members that they are personally involved in selecting the Academic All-American teams.
In addition to changes to the eligibility requirements and master calendar, members will use a new platform to nominate this year. More information on accessing the platform will be communicated to members; however, the program will continue to exercise the single-sign-on method, meaning the username and password for CSC will remain the same and also give members access to the nomination and voting portal.
What will not change:
- CSC members will continue to vote on Academic All-America ballots in their respective divisions.
- Cumulative GPAs necessary for eligibility will remain the same at 3.50 or higher.
- The maximum number of submissions per school in each sport and by gender remains the same with the exception that the NCAA/NAIA At-Large maximums will increase by one (from 5 to 6) for each gender.
- Late submissions will not be accepted.
Important reminders:
- Purchase membership well in advance to ensure immediate access to the nominating platform in November. Having a current membership guarantees you will receive weekly emails during the year with upcoming deadlines.
- To avoid missing important program dates, download the master calendar for nominations, voting and announcements.
- Familiarize yourself with the new and existing eligibility criteria. Become a conscientious nominator and voter. This award is a combination of athletic and academic achievement for the current year and is reserved for the most elite student-athletes.
The working group included the following CSC members:
Chair:
Mitch Blankespoor, formerly Wilmington College (NCAA Division III)
Jamie Baldwin, Michigan State (NCAA Division I)
Isaac Comelli, CSU Bakersfield (NCAA Division I)
Katie Gonzales, Illinois Wesleyan (NCAA Division III)
Jon Holtz, Slippery Rock (NCAA Division II)
Kevin Lanke, Rose-Hulman (NCAA Division III)
Chris Masters, UIC (NCAA Division I) AAA Hall of Fame committee
Frank Mercogliano, New Mexico (NCAA Division I)
Katie Mucci, NCAA Division III Governance
Ali Paquette, Middlebury (NCAA Division III)
Andrew Roberts, SWAC (NCAA Division I)
Donnie Smith, Southeastern (NAIA)
Kevin Smith, Wooster (NCAA Division III)
Eric Wieberg, NABC (Advocate)
CSC President
John Paquette, BIG EAST (NCAA Division I)
CSC 1st Vice President
Kevin Trainor, Arkansas (NCAA Division I)
CSC staff liaisons
Laurie Bollig and
Beau White