FRISCO, Texas – After helping the Southeastern Louisiana University football team to its first winning record since 2004 and its best finish in the Southland Conference, junior offensive lineman
David Wardwas selected to the Capital One Bank/Southland Conference All-Academic Team on Monday.
Ward, from Sugar Hill, Ga., posted a 3.42 grade point average in Organismal and Integrative Biology. The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Ward started all 11 games at left guard for the Lions and was a Second-Team All-Southland selection. Ward, who has started the last 23 games after missing the entire 2007 season with an injury, played a key role on one of the top offensive performances in Southeastern history.
A four-time President’s List recipient and two-time Dean’s List student, Ward is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and works as a tutor in the Southeastern Center for Student Excellence. … tutors students in Biological Sciences, Math, Chemistry, Physics and Spanish … scheduled to graduate in May 2010
Texas State quarterback Bradley George was named the Capital One Bank/Southland Conference Football Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced.
George, the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year, completed 63 percent (258-of-409) of his passes for 3,121 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2009. The graduate student from New Braunfels, Texas, was seven yards shy of the school’s single season record for most passing yards, and ended his career as Texas State’s all-time career passing leader, having completed 753-of-1,277 passes (60 percent) for 9,556 yards and 91 touchdowns. He threw for 300 yards six times and tied his own single-game record of 30 completions twice in 2009.
George graduated with a degree in industrial technology in 2008 and is a three-time member of the Southland Conference Football All-Academic Teams, with selection in 2006, 2008 and 2009. He is a four-time member of the Southland Commissioner’s Honor Roll between 2005-09 and a Texas State Oak Farms Dairy Academic Award winner in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. As an undergraduate, George maintained a 3.12 grade-point average.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 12 member schools, voted for the student-athlete of the year. The Southland student-athlete of the year award is presented to the one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale, and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.
Texas State placed four student-athletes on the Capital One Bank/Southland Conference All-Academic team, including George. His teammates who joined him on the teams include running back Jeff McVaney, defensive lineman Travis Houston and defensive back Will Thompson.
Northwestern State led the league with six selections on the All-Academic team, including running back Quinten Goodie, tight end Justin Aldredge, defensive lineman Scott Wattigny, linebacker Blake Delcambre and defensive backs Wesley Eckles and Phillip LeBlanc.
McNeese State also placed five on the All-Academic team, while Central Arkansas had four. Stephen F. Austin and Nicholls each placed two on the team, while Sam Houston State and Southeastern Louisiana each had one.
There were 10 automatic selections to the All-Academic team. To be an automatic selection, a student-athlete must make at least one of the following teams: first-team All-Southland Conference, College Sports Information Directors of America/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI team or FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team.
Five student-athletes were named CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI selections, including Goodie, Aldredge and Wattigny, all from Northwestern State, as well as Sam Houston State offensive lineman Jordan Bowersox and Central Arkansas offensive lineman Austin Emerson. Aldredge, Bowersox, Stephen F. Austin defensive end Tim Knicky and Texas State defensive lineman Travis Houston were named FCS ADA Academic All-Stars on Friday.
Three others – McNeese State quarterback Derrick Fourroux, McNeese State defensive end Desmund Lighten and Nicholls punter Patrick Dolan – joined the group as automatic selections by virtue of being named first-team All-Southland Conference. There were a total of five all-conference selections on the All-Academic teams.
George, Knicky and Houston made the All-Academic team for the third time, while two-time honorees include Goodie, Bowersox, Delcambre, Eckles, Thompson, Dolan and Central Arkansas offensive lineman Casey Thurber, .
The All-Academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic/compliance administrators from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.
Included in Capital One Bank’s support of the Southland Conference’s Academic Awards Program is the F.L. McDonald Postgraduate Scholarship, the All-Academic Teams, the Student-Athlete of the Year, the Scholar-Athlete Award and the Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
2009 Southland Conference Football All-Academic Teams
Pos.- Name, University, Cl., Hometown, GPA, Major
QB - Derrick Fourroux, McNeese State, Sr., Erath, La., 3.00, Nursing
QB - Bradley George, Texas State, Gr., New Braunfels, Texas, 3.50, Geography
WR - James Lovett, Central Arkansas, Sr., Lakeland, Fla., 3.02, Health Education
WR - Richard Conner, McNeese State, Gr., Lafayette, La., 3.07, Marketing
RB - Quinten Goodie, Northwestern State, Sr., Lafayette, La., 3.52, Computer Information Systems
RB - Jeff McVaney, Texas State, So., Houston, Texas, 3.59, Marketing
TE - Justin Aldredge, Northwestern State, Jr., Ruston, La., 3.90, Accounting
OL - Austin Emerson, Central Arkansas, Jr., Sperry, Okla., 3.79, History
OL - Jordan Bowersox, Sam Houston State, Gr., Wichita, Kan., 3.73, Finance
OL - Max Holmes, Stephen F. Austin, Gr., Baton Rouge, La., 3.43, Interdisciplinary Studies
OL - David Ward, Southeastern La., Jr., Sugar Hill, Ga., 3.42, Organismal & Integrative Biology
OL - Casey Thurber, Central Arkansas, Sr., Tulsa, Okla., 3.48, Chemistry
K - Ross Schexnayder, Nicholls, Sr., Houma, La., 3.24, General Studies
DEFENSE
Pos. – Name, University, Cl., Hometown, GPA, Major
DL - Desmund Lighten, McNeese State, So., Monroe, La., 3.07, Health & Human Performance
DL - Scott Wattigny, Northwestern State, Sr., New Orleans, La., 3.52, History
DL - Tim Knicky, Stephen F. Austin, Sr., Cedar Park, Texas. 3.33, Kinesiology
DL - Travis Houston, Texas State, Sr., Converse, Texas, 3.65, Computer Info. Systems & Finance
LB - Blake Delcambre, Northwestern State, Sr., New Iberia, La., 3.00, General Studies
LB - Matt Kreamer, McNeese State, Sr., Shreveport, La., 3.03, General Studies
DB - Wesley Eckles, Northwestern State, Sr., Mansfield, La., 3.32, Business Admin. & Computer Info. Systems
DB - Jace Peterson, McNeese State, So., Moss Bluff, La., 3.03, Health Education
DB - Zach Hyatt, Central Arkansas, Sr., Benton, Ark., 3.30, Kinesiology & Physical Education
DB - Will Thmopson, Texas State, Sr., Katy, Texas, 3.14, Accounting
DB - Phillip LeBlanc, Northwestern State, Jr., Metairie, La., 3.32, Business Administration
P - Patrick Dolan, Nicholls, Jr., Mobile, Ala., 3.66, Marketing