BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — During the 2005-06 academic year, the Southeastern Conference placed 17 of its student-athletes on first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, more than any Division I conference in the nation.
CoSIDA selects Academic All-America teams in 12 programs: football, women’s volleyball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s track & field/cross country, women’s track & field/cross country, men’s at-large and women’s at-large. A first team, second team and third team are selected in both the University (Division I and I-AA) and College (Division II, III and NAIA) Divisions. Football consists of just first and second teams.
The SEC does not sponsor men’s soccer as a championship sport.
The SEC had 34 of its student-athletes earn Academic All-America status overall, which ranked second behind the Big Ten Conference, which had 38 student-athletes make Academic All-America mention.
Ten of the 12 SEC Schools had at least one person on the first-team.
The Big 12 finished second behind the SEC in first-team Academic All-Americans with 16 and third overall with 33. The Big Ten was third in first-team Academic All-Americans with 14.
The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East tied for fourth in first-team Academic All-Americans with 13 while the Pac-10 was sixth with 10. The ACC was fourth in total Academic All-Americans with 32 followed by the Big East with 26 and the Pac-10 with 24.
The entire listing of the 2005-06 SEC Academic All-America selections follows:
FIRST TEAM (17)
Name
School
Sport
Year
Hometown
GPA/Major
Dara Altman
Florida
W-Track/CC
Sr.
Tampa , Fla.
3.98 / Exercise & Sport Sciences
Taylor Begley
Kentucky
Football
Gr.
Danville , Ky.
3.82 / Electrical Engineering
Kurt Cady
Auburn
M-Swimming
Sr.
Las Vegas , Nev.
3.62 / Civil Engineering
Kasi Carroll
Georgia
Softball
Jr.
Norris City , Ill.
3.83 / Early Childhood Education
Kara Denby
Auburn
W-Swimming
Jr.
Simi Valley , Calif.
4.00 / Zoology
LSU
Softball
Sr.
Harahan , La.
3.89 / Finance & Political Science
Angela Homan
Auburn
W-Track/CC
Sr.
Spencerville , Ohio
3.90 / Exercise Science
Hayden Lane
Kentucky
Football
Gr.
Lawrenceville , Ga.
3.95 / Anthropology & Classics
Beth Mallory
Alabama
W-Track/CC
Sr.
Ashland , Ohio
3.83 / Physical Education
Rudy Niswanger
LSU
Football
Gr.
Monroe , La.
4.00 / Pre-Medicine
Jose-Carlos Pinto
Miss. State
M-Tennis
Sr.
Sao Paulo, Brazil
3.99 / Banking & Finance
Emeel Salem
Alabama
Baseball
Jr.
Mountain Brook , Ala.
3.90 / Marketing & Spanish
*Lindsay Schutzler
Tennessee
Softball
Jr.
Monterey , Calif.
3.86 / Psychology
Ashley Smith
South Carolina
Softball
Sr.
Portage , Mich.
4.00 / Civil Engineering
Joseph Sykora
Alabama
M-Golf
Jr.
Daphne, Ala.
4.00 / Business
Jaanus Uudmae
Arkansas
M-Track/CC
Gr.
Tallin , Estonia
4.00 / Computer Science Engineering
Shanna Zolman
Tennessee
W-Basketball
Sr.
Syracuse , Ind.
3.56 / Journalism
SECOND TEAM (8)
Guido Arroyo
Alabama
M-Swimming
Sr.
Quito , Ecuador
4.00 / Mgmt. Info. Services
Nicole Barnett
Auburn
W-Gymnastics
Jr.
Chatsworth , Pa.
4.00 / Biomedical Sciences
Collin Cowgill
Kentucky
Baseball
So.
Lexington , Ky.
3.92 / Communications
Tyler Gustafson
Tennessee
M-Swimming
Sr.
Harrisonburg , Va.
3.81 / Logistics & Transportation
Chris Helwick
Tennessee
M-Track/CC
Jr.
Greeley , Colo.
3.60 / Business/Economics
Antoine Huffman
Kentucky
Football
Gr.
Jonesboro , Ga.
3.46 / Telecommunications
Lee Humphrey
Florida
M-Basketball
Jr.
Maryville , Tenn.
3.74 / Applied Physiology & Kinesiology ? Exercise Physiology
Zach Sabatino
Tennessee
M-Track/CC
Sr.
Charleston , W.V.
3.79 / Sport Management
THIRD TEAM (9)
Ashley Bentley
Alabama
W-Tennis
Sr.
Montgomery , Ala.
3.75 / Biology
Kimmy Criss
South Carolina
W-Soccer
Sr.
Knoxville , Tenn.
4.00 / Accounting
Blakeley Griffith
Tennessee
W-Tennis
Jr.
Middleburg , Va.
4.00 / English
Andrew Heath
Auburn
M-Track/CC
Sr.
Marietta , Ga.
3.84 / Civil Engineering
Darren O’Day
Florida
Baseball
Sr.
Jacksonville , Fla.
3.54 / Animal Biology
Kristin Peoples
Arkansas
W-Basketball
Jr.
Westerville , Ohio
3.93 / Biology (Pre-Med)
Adam Perkins
Arkansas
M-Track/CC
Jr.
Liberty , Mo.
3.40 / Finance
Vlad Polyakov
Alabama
M-Swimming
Jr.
Petropavl , Kazakhstan
3.74 / Marketing
Penny Splichal
Arkansas
W-Track/CC
Sr.
Dickinson, N.D.
3.87 / Recreation
* – Named Academic All-American of the Year for sport.
KEY: W ? Women; M ? Men.