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Academic All-America awards program working group update
by Laurie Bollig – College Sports Communicators, Director of Membership Engagement
Assembled in late April to begin a comprehensive review of CSC’s Academic All-America awards program, a working group of 16 members has devoted its first two meetings to more clearly defining the current Academic All-District designation.
To continue to support the goal of annually selecting the best and most outstanding student-athletes for Academic All-American recognition, the working group discussed the exclusivity of the designation. It was the consensus of the group that higher athletic thresholds would help distinguish this awards program from others that rely on only academic standards or athletic standards and not both.
Clearly defining the designation of what is now called Academic All-District will lead to a more concise definition of what is required for eligibility on the national ballot for Academic All-American honors.
Over the next month, the working group will discuss (1) what higher athletic criteria will look like for submissions overall and by sport, (2) if a name change for the All-District designation is appropriate and (3) how these decisions affect the timing of the overall program and voting for Academic All-American teams.
Working Group Members
Chair: Mitch Blankespoor, Wilmington College
Jamie Baldwin, Michigan State
Isaac Comelli, CSU Bakersfield
Katie Gonzales, Illinois Wesleyan
Jon Holtz, Slippery Rock
Kevin Lanke, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
Chris Masters, Big Ten, AAA Hall of Fame committee char
Frank Mercogliano, New Mexico
Katie Mucci, NCAA Division III Governance
Ali Paquette, Middlebury
Andrew Roberts, SWAC
Donnie Smith, Southeastern
Kevin Smith, Wooster
Eric Wieberg, NABC
Executive Board liaison: John Paquette, First VP, Big EAST Conference
Executive Board liaison: Kevin Trainor, Second VP, Arkansas
Staff liaison: Laurie Bollig
Staff liaison: Beau White
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