GRAND FORKS, N.D. - University of North Dakota seniors Brandon Hellevang and Nick Nolte have been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® football team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Hellevang was selected as the first team placekicker while Nolte was one of four defensive linemen named to the second team.
"I want to congratulate Nick and Brandon for this recognition of their outstanding academic performance," athletics director Brian Faison said. "This again shows the strong commitment our student-athletes and our coaches have to academics."
This season Hellevang leads the Fighting Sioux with 67 points on 25-of-26 PATs and 14-of-17 field goals.
A member of the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII first team, Hellevang tops the Great West Conference with 1.40 field goals per game and is ranked in the top five in four other categories. He set a league record with a 52-yard field goal in the opener at Texas Tech (Sept. 5) and hit the mark once again during the GWC championship game at UC Davis (Nov. 14).
Hellevang was the only student-athlete from the conference to be named to the first team.
A forensic science major, Nolte is tied for third in the Great West with a pair of forced fumbles (.20/game). He picked up his first forced fumble of the season during the 31-24 victory over Stony Brook and his second in the following game against Sioux Falls. Against the Cougars he also registered a career-high five unassisted tackles and two quarterback hurries.
Through 10 games the Fighting Sioux defense has held its opponents to just 4.0 yards per rush and 7.7 yards per pass. Teams have been held to just 33 percent (4-for-12) on fourth-down conversions and 49 percent (67-for-137) on third-down conversions.
A member of the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII first team, Nolte was one of two student-athletes from the Great West to be named to the second team. South Dakota's Chris Ganious was named the second team running back.
The 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® first team is highlighted by record-setting quarterback Tim Tebow of number one-ranked Florida who was the recipient of the Academic All-America® of the Year award.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
ESPN The Magazine - winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence - is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized biweekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.
- Go Sioux -
A graduate student pursuing his M.B.A. in business administration, Hellevang is just two extra points away from taking over as UND's all-time career record-holder. He is currently the program's third-leading scorer (320 points) and field goal kicker (48-for-77) and is listed top 10 on several single-season lists.
