Jan. 22, 2008

Elmhurst, Ill. - In the Great West Football Conference, athletics and academics do indeed co-exist and it is proven in the 2007 All-Academic team, released today by the conference office. No fewer than 11 members named to the Great West all-Conference teams were named to the all-Academic team, including a record eight members of the first team.

South Dakota State led all Great West members with 16 student-athletes named to the academic squad, led by first-team all-league selections Mitch Erickson, an offensive lineman who has earned a 3.352 grade point average in Mechanical Engineering, kicker Parker Douglass, who besides kicks game-winning field goals, boasts a 3.776 grade point average in Biology, running back Cory Koenig, who has a 3.770 GPA in Biology, and linebacker Jimmy Rogers, who has a 3.209 grade point average in HPER. Koenig was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American first team earlier this year, while Douglass was named to the second team for the second straight season.

Complete Release in PDF Format