Allen And Pinkney Named C-USA All-Academic
December 03, 2009 | Football
Dec. 3, 2009
IRVING, Texas - East Carolina seniors Sean Allen and Patrick Pinkney are two of 14 student-athletes named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team, as selected by the league's Sports Information Directors for football Thursday. This year's all-academic squad is made up of two graduate students, nine seniors, a junior and a pair of sophomores.
Rice and UTEP had a league-best three selections land on the All-Academic team, while East Carolina and SMU had two apiece. Memphis, Tulane, Tulsa and UCF also placed one member each on the squad. The all-academic team consists of student-athletes who have earned a 3.2 cumulative grade point average or better and are a starter or key reserve on their team.
Both Allen and Pinkney are first time selections on the all-academic squad leading the Pirates to their second-straight appearance in the C-USA Championship Game. Allen is an information technologies student with a minor in business administration. The Wilson, N.C., native owns a 3.34 GPA and was selected a preseason All-C-USA first teamer by league coaches, CBSSports.com, Phil Steele Magazine, Rivals.com and The Sporting News. Pinkney earned his bachelor's degree in health fitness in May 2008 and is currently working towards a second degree in child development and family relations. The senior quarterback owns a 3.24 GPA and has completed 221-373 passes (59.2%) for 2,476 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Rice senior Andrew Sendejo was named to the C-USA All-Academic Football Team for the third consecutive year as a sports management major with a minor in business. The defensive back owns a 3.55 GPA and is a three-time selection to ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VI first-team. Sendejo was tied for sixth in the nation with 6.4 unassisted tackles per game before suffering a season-ending injury at ECU and was the NCAA career active leader with 216 solo tackles before he was hurt.
Travis Bradshaw and Clark Fangmeier also represent Rice on the All-Academic team. Bradshaw is the lone junior on the squad and sports a 3.37 GPA in chemical engineering. The Cypress, Texas native is a two-time ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VI, first team selection and leads C-USA with 90 unassisted stops. Fangmeier earned a spot on the All-Academic team as a mathematical economic analysis student. The punt kicker carries a 3.37 GPA, while standing as Rice's career kick scoring leader (266 points) and second on the C-USA career chart with 181 career PATs.
SMU's Mitch Enright earns his second consecutive all-academic accolade as a graduate student working towards an MBA in marketing and strategic leadership. The offensive lineman earned his undergraduate degree in three years and is in his second year of graduate school with a 3.77 GPA. Enright was named an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American for his efforts and is a three-time all-district honoree. Senior linebacker Chase Kennemer also represents SMU on the all-academic team. The finance major owns a 3.52 GPA and was voted a captain by his teammates this season. The Arlington, Texas native ranks atop the C-USA charts with 125 total tackles this season. The pair has helped the Mustangs to their first bowl berth since 1984.
Andre Anderson of Tulane collects all-academic honors for the second straight year as a computer information systems student. The senior running back owns a 3.51 GPA and was selected to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America First Team earlier this season. Anderson, a native of Stone Mountain, Ga., was named College Football Performance co-Running Back of the Week for his 199 yards vs. McNeese State this season and is a two-time Doak Walker Award candidate.
Rocky Ross of UCF earns his first all-academic accolade as a graduate student in sports and fitness with a 3.88 GPA. The Jacksonville, Fla., native was selected to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America team and is a member of the NFF's Hampshire honor society. Ross is a team captain for the Knights and ranks second on the team with 37 catches.
Also making a repeat appearance on the all-academic squad is Cameron Rashcke of UTEP. The offensive lineman is an occupational therapy major with a 3.72 GPA. Rashcke earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology last May and won the Kinesiology Major of the Year Exercises Sciences Award at UTEP earlier this year. The Kerrville, Texas native played an integral role in the Miner O-line before suffering a season-ending neck injury.
Joining Rashcke from the Miners are Greg Hiett and Jeremy Springer. Hiett carries a 3.73 GPA as a kinesiology major and is a three-time C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll member. The senior punter owns a 42.9 punting average and has recorded 11 punts of 50 or more yards. Springer appears as one of two sophomores' on the all-academic team. The Los Fresnos, Texas native has a 3.72 GPA in business and was a 2007 C-USA Academic Medal winner. Springer moved to linebacker this season and tallied 66 total tackles on the year.
Rounding out the 2009 C-USA Football All-Academic Team are Memphis' Matt Reagan and G.J. Kinne of Tulsa. Reagan was nominated for the 2009 Lowe's Senior Class Award and was a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation post-graduate scholarship award. The senior punt kicker owns a 3.85 GPA as an earth science major with a minor in mathematics. Kinne earns his first all-academic honor as an exercise and sports science student with a 3.33 GPA. The sophomore quarterback ranks third in C-USA in passing average per game with 227.7 yards and became the first player in school history to pass for over 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in a single-game.
The 2009 C-USA Football Championship will take place Saturday, December 5 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, N.C. The game will showcase East Carolina and Houston and will be televised live by ESPN2, beginning at Noon EST/11 a.m. CST.
2009 C-USA Football All-Academic Team
NAME - SCHOOL - YEAR - GPA - MAJOR
Sean Allen - East Carolina - Senior - 3.44 - Information Technologies (Minor: Business Administration)
Patrick Pinkney - East Carolina - Senior - 3.24 - Child Development and Family Relations
Matt Reagan - Memphis - Senior - 3.85 - Earth Science (Minor: Mathematics)
Travis Bradshaw - Rice - Junior - 3.37 - Chemical Engineering
Clark Fangmeier - Rice - Senior - 3.37 - Mathematical Economic Analysis
**Andrew Sendejo - Rice - Senior - 3.55 - Sports Management (Minor: Business)
*Mitch Enright - SMU - Senior - 3.77 - MBA
Chase Kennemer - SMU - Senior - 3.52 - Finance
*Andre Anderson - Tulane - Senior - 3.51 - Computer Information Systems
G.J. Kinne - Tulsa - Sophomore - 3.33 - Exercise & Sports Science
Rocky Ross - UCF - Graduate - 3.88 - Sports and Fitness
Greg Hiett - UTEP - Senior - 3.73 - Kinesiology
*Cameron Raschke - UTEP - Graduate - 3.72 - Occupational Therapy
Jeremy Springer - UTEP - Sophomore - 3.72 - Business
*Repeat Selection
