2015 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA DIVISION III FOOTBALL TEAMSCoSIDA NEWS RELEASE ON ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA DIVISION III FOOTBALL TEAMS
MINNEAPOLIS -- For the second straight year, Augsburg College offensive lineman Zach Swingen (SR, Cross Plains, Wis./Middleton HS) was named to the Academic All-America football squad for NCAA Division III, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), it was announced on Tuesday.
A chemistry and biology major with a 3.97 grade-point average, Swingen was selected as a 2015 first-team member after earning second-team honors last season. Earlier this season, he earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for the second time in his career. Swingen is the ninth Augsburg student-athlete in school history to earn multiple CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in their careers and the 14th first-team selection.Augsburg student-athletes have been honored 33 times with CoSIDA Academic All-America honors since 1981, including 20 since 2005. Augsburg football players have earned 12 CoSIDA Academic All-America honors since 1981. Among the 13 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schools, Augsburg has had the fourth-most CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time. Augsburg has also had the fourth-most football players selected as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans among the 10 MIAC schools that have football programs.The award was the latest for Swingen, who earned All-MIAC second-team honors for the second straight year. Starting at center for most of the season, Swingen was an anchor of an Augsburg offensive line that helped produce 5,038 yards of total offense (503.8 yards per-game), second-best among MIAC teams in overall statistics. The Auggies had the top rushing offense in the conference, averaging 263.4 yards per-game, while its 240.4 passing yards per-game was third-best. The Auggie offensive line allowed just 10 sacks and 52 tackles for-loss in 2015.In Swingen's four seasons as a starter, Augsburg produced 18,795 yards of total offense (469.9 yards per-game), including 8,366 rushing yards (209.2 per-game) and 10,429 passing yards (260.7 per-game), while allowing just 44 sacks and 166 tackles for-loss.In its 11th season under Head CoachÂ
Frank Haege, Augsburg finished 5-5 overall, 4-4 in MIAC play in 2015, winning three of its last four games down the stretch.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America program is administered by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Top student-athletes, who have already earned Academic All-District first-team honors, are eligible for inclusion on the Academic All-America team. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their current institutions, have a grade-point average above 3.30 (4.0 scale) and have outstanding athletic credentials. The Academic All-America ballot is voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in NCAA Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.The Division III Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2015-16 Division III Academic All-America teams program. This is the fifth year of the expanded Academic All-America program, as CoSIDA has moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I), doubling the number of scholar-athletes honored. The teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools. First-team Academic All-District members advance to the Academic All-America ballot, voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members.
Augsburg College's All-Time CoSIDA Academic All-Americans:Zach Swingen, football, 2015 (first team)
Chris DeVet, football, 2014 (first team)Zach Swingen, football, 2014 (second team)Lauren Rice, women's track and field/cross country, 2014 (first team)Elianna Bier, women's swimming and diving (women's at-large), 2014 (second team)Chad Thompson, football, 2013 (second team)Chris DeVet, football, 2013 (second team)Bri Dorale, softball, 2013 (first team)Chad Thompson, football, 2012 (first team)Tony Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2012 (first team)Tony Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2011 (first team)Alex Hildebrandt, men's soccer, 2009 (second team)Alex Hildebrandt, men's soccer, 2008 (third team)Nick Manders, men's soccer, 2007 (second team)Andrew Neumann, football, 2006 (second team)Ryan Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2006 (first team)Riley Conway, men's track and field/cross country, 2005 (second team)Mark Matzek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2005 (first team)Ryan Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2005 (third team)Darren Ginther, baseball, 2005 (first team)Brent Peroutka, football, 2001 (second team)Josh Cagle, wrestling (men's at-large), 2000 (first team)Brian Jones, wrestling (men's at-large), 2000 (second team)Josh Cagle, wrestling (men's at-large), 1999 (second team)Jim Peterson, wrestling (men's at-large), 1999 (second team)Scott Hvistendahl, football, 1998 (second team)Ted Schultz, football, 1997 (first team)Scott Hvistendahl, football, 1997 (second team)Dan Lewandowski, wrestling (men's at-large), 1997 (second team)Andrea Haight, softball, 1991 (second team)Karen Sterner, track and field (women's at-large), 1987 (second team)Karen Sterner, track and field (women's at-large), 1986 (first team)Paul Elliot, football, 1981 (only one team selected)Â
(Note: This release includes information taken from Augsburg's All-MIAC football release and previous Augsburg Academic All-America news releases.)
