LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Senior running back Madison Ross of Austin College, junior offensive lineman Tyler Howlett of Texas Lutheran University and junior linebacker Brad Hood of Trinity University have been elected to the Capital One Academic NCAA Division III All-District 8 Football First Team.
The Academic All-District™ teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the fifth year of the expanded Academic All-America® program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division Academic All-America® Team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.
For Ross, this is the second straight year the senior running back from Fort Worth, has earned this honor. Last year he went on to be named first team Academic All-America. The four-year letter winner from Austin College leads the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in both running yards (896) and touchdowns (11), in addition to boasting a 3.93 grade-point-average.
Howlett, TLU's starting left tackle, claimed District 8 First Team honors for a second consecutive year. He was one of five offensive linemen and one of 29 total football players named to the District 8 First Team. Howlett is an accounting major with a cumulative grade point average of 3.69.
Trinity's Hood is an engineering science major, with a 3.65 grade point average. He has been a member of Trinity's Dean's List, and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll. Last July, Hood was nominated for the Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team, for his community service and volunteerism.
This season, Hood is second on the Tiger team with 53 tackles, 28 of which have been unassisted. Hood has also chalked up 8.5 tackles for a loss of 22 yards, along with three pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks, one interception, and a fumble recovery.
The Academic All-District Team is selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The national Academic All-America Team will be released later this month.
For the entire 2015 Captial One Academic All-District® football team, click here.
