Thunder linebacker Adam Dansdill honored as an AFCA Division III All-American
Wheaton, Ill. – Wheaton College senior Adam Dansdill has been named to the Division III All-American Team by the American Football Coaches Association. The AFCA Division III All-American Team consists of only First Team honorees and is made up of 25 players.
Dansdill, the 2014 and 2015 CCIW Defensive Player of the Year, led the Thunder in 2015 with 115 total tackles, including 14 tackles for lost yardage this season. He is the fifth player in league history to win the CCIW Defensive Player of the Year award twice, joining Jim Perryman of Millikin (1981-82); Chad Thorson from Wheaton (1988-89); Rusty VanWetzinga of Augustana (1994-95) and Illinois Wesleyan's John Munch (1996-97). Dansdill helped lead Wheaton to a a CCIW Championship in 2015, the second-consecutive conference title for the Thunder. Wheaton finished the season 11-1 and posted back-to-back 10-0 regular season records for the first time in school history.
A two-time First Team All-CCIW selection, Dansdill has recorded 318 total tackles in his four seasons at Wheaton. Dansdill made 27 tackles for lost yardage (-93 yards), including six quarterback sacks. In his four-year career he recorded 25 passes broken-up, including three interceptions. As a junior in 2014 he registered 133 total tackles and made 115 total tackles this season to become the first Wheaton defensive player to record back-to-back 100-plus tackle seasons since Justin Knapp (2001 & 2002).
There have been 14 AFCA Division III All-American selections from Wheaton through the years. Wheaton's 14 selections to the AFCA Division III All-American Team since the awards began in 1972 is tied for sixth-most in the history of the program.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA.
In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. The AFCA began selecting an NAIA-only team in 2006. Also in 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively.
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, to create the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006.
MOST AFCA DIVISION III ALL-AMERICAN SELECTIONS ALL-TIME
1.) Mount Union - 24
T2.) Augustana (Ill.) and Wittenberg - 19
T3.) Linfield and Washington & Jefferson - 18
T4.) UW-La Crosse - 17
T5.) UW-Whitewater; Wesley; Central (Iowa) and Montclair State - 15
T6.) WHEATON and Springfield - 14
T7.) Emory & Henry; Ithaca; Mary-Hardin Baylor and Widener - 13
8.) Salisbury - 12
T9.) Frostburg State; Wabash and St. John's (Minn.) - 11
10.) John Carroll - 10
Originally published by Wheaton College Athletics: /news/2015/12/14/FB_1214152822.aspx