Dec 6, 2011

J.J. Clark and Scott Roche named to Division III Capital One Academic All-America Football Team

Football

12/6/2011 3:53:00 PM

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PICTURED ABOVE: Senior tight end JJ Clark has been named to the Capital One Academic All-America Second Team

LINK TO COMPLETE DIVISION III CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA FOOTBALL TEAM

Wheaton, Ill. – Wheaton College seniors J.J. Clark and Scott Roche have been selected to the Capital One Academic All-America Football Team for Division III. Wheaton was one of six schools to have more than one selection to the team. This season, the duo helped lead Wheaton to an 8-2 overall record in 2011.

Clark earned Second Team Academic All-America selection at tight end. He is a History major at Wheaton with a 3.74 cumulative grade point average. Clark caught 16 passes this season, playing in every game at tight end for the Thunder. He totaled 163 receiving yards on the season, averaging of 10.2 yards per catch, with a touchdown reception.

Roche (PICTURED LEFT), a Second Team honoree at kicker, is a Business/Econ. and Geology double-major at Wheaton with a 3.48 cumulative grade point average. A D3football.com First Team All-North Region pick earlier this week, he made 13 of his 16 field goal attempts this season. He booted a season-long field goal of 49 yards at UW-Platteville. Roche has 40 career field goals and is tied for 12th all-time in Division III history. He is one of only 17 kickers in the history of Division III to have 40 or more field goals.

The Capital One Academic All-America program honors student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level in athletics and in the classroom. Members of the eight First Team Academic All-District squads in each Division advance to the national ballot, where they have the opportunity to be selected for the ESPN Academic All-America Team. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA; a 2,000-plus member organization consisted of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

Through the years, 46 Wheaton student-athletes have earned a total of 61 Academic All-American selections through the prestigious program. Since 2000 there have been 36 Academic All-American selections from Wheaton.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her current institution. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Division I, II, III, NAIA and junior colleges covering all NCAA championship sports.Print Friendly Version