Matt Weir / Collegian File Folder
43 Bulldogs receive honors off the field
The term student-athlete is frequently overlooked and misunderstood in collegiate athletics.
Student-athletes are merely just athletes in the public rather than scholarly students. However, 43 Bulldogs who participated in fall 2009 sports did their part to put an end to this trend.
Not only is Fresno State making noise academically in the WAC, but also national recognition as well. Bulldog football is highly ranked nationally in producing high Academic Progress Rate (APA) scores.
Of the 312 student-athletes honored as Academic All-WAC in fall sports, which include men’s and women’s cross country, football, soccer and volleyball, Fresno State proved itself as an successful school not only on the field but in the classroom as well.
Courtesy of Fresno State Athletics
What is even more impressive are the guidelines the student-athletes have to follow to be considered an Academic All-WAC selection. A student-athlete must balance practice and game time while maintaining a 3.0 cumulative grade point average and have participated in a minimum of 50 percent of their particular sport’s contests.
Across the board, men’s and women’s cross country took home five Academic All-WAC honorees each, soccer compiled 10 recipients and volleyball collected five of its own. Fresno State football once again took academic success to a whole new level.
The Bulldogs football team broke its previous record of 16 selections set in 2007 by having an all-time-best 18 student-athletes awarded.
Photo By Brianna Campbell / Collegian File Photo
Leading the way for sensational academic and athletic success are junior lineman Andrew Jackson and senior defensive back Moses Harris.
Harris, a four-time Academic All-WAC selection, won Fresno State’s second National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award. He was also California’s only finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is given to the nation’s “Academic Heisman.”
Jackson was selected as the only first-team Academic All-American in Fresno State football history to date. His first-team selection marks the first time a Bulldog student-athlete in any sport has been given first-team honors since 2002. He is accompanied by senior punter Robert Malone who was selected as second-team Academic All-American. Together, Jackson and Malone combine as the only time two Fresno State Bulldogs who have received Academic All-American honors in one season.
The 18 Academic All-WAC selections doubles the number of honorees Fresno State received in the years prior to Pat Hill’s arrival 13 seasons ago.
Photo By Matt Weir / Collegian File Folder
In the history of the conference, only two schools have more than 100 Academic All-WAC selections in one decade (2000-2009), Fresno State and rival Boise State. Since Hill’s arrival, the football team has averaged nearly 11 players per season on the Academic All-WAC list and 141 total.
To go along with its record number of Academic All-WAC and Academic All-American selections, Fresno State football also tallied a record number of Academic All-District players. Kevin Goessling, Ben Jacobs, Vince Pascoe, Jackson and Malone were honored, the most selections for any school in the nation in that category.
