Dankenbring was honored with a spot on the Capital One Academic All-America Second Team, and joins Ricot Joseph (2001, second team), (2007, first team) and (2009, second team) on the list of 麻豆原创 academic All-Americans.

Meanwhile, Dankenbring was one of just two players from Conference USA as well as two from a college in the state of Florida who received academic All-American distinction Thursday.

Earlier in the season, Dankenbring was named a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation’s William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the best football scholar-athlete in the nation.

Dankenbring received his bachelor’s degree in political science in 2011, and has registered four-straight 4.0 semesters while working on his master’s degree in social science education. On the field, he entered the 2012 campaign with 44 career tackles and one interception. This year聽he has 45 tackles overall and two interceptions.

Against UAB, Dankenbring ran back an interception 78 yards for a touchdown, marking the Knights’ fifth-longest interception return in school history.

Dankenbring and the Knights (9-4) will get back to work after finals as they prepare for the 2012 Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl against Ball State (9-3) on Friday, Dec. 21, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The game is one of just 10 bowl contests where both teams have at least nine victories.

For ticket information, contact the 麻豆原创 Ticket Office at 407-823-1000 or visit 麻豆原创Athletics.com.

Majoring in sports and fitness, Linam currently carries a cumulative grade-point average of 3.36, and he was one of just three members of this year’s C-USA All-Academic Team who were repeat selections (ECU’s Matt Milner and Tulsa’s G.J. Kinne are the others).

Linam and former 麻豆原创 defensive back Sha’reff Rashad are the only two Knights who have appeared on both the Academic All-District Team and the C-USA All-Academic Team twice during their careers since 麻豆原创 moved to C-USA in 2005.

In all, the Knights have earned six spots on the C-USA All-Academic Team under head coach George O’Leary: Rashad (2006 and 2007), Keith Shologan (2007), Rocky Ross (2009) and Linam (2010 and 2011).

A native of Tavares, Fla., Linam started 25 of 麻豆原创’s last 26 games at middle linebacker, ranking third on the team in 2011 with 66 tackles, including a season-high nine vs. East Carolina and UTEP. He also collected 10 tackles for loss, two sacks and a pair of interceptions. Linam received College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention National Linebacker of the Week honors for his effort against UTEP, which featured 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception.

For his career, Linam registered 165 tackles with 20 tackles for loss and three interceptions in 50 games played.

The honor adds to an impressive postseason haul by the Minnesotan. Last month she received the LPGA’s Dinah Shore Award, a prestigious national honor given to the collegiate golfer who best combines success on the course, in the classroom and in the community.

Detlefsen, a junior who was also an All-Conference USA selection on the course this past year, graduated in two years with a 4.0 GPA and she has maintained that perfect mark through her first year of graduate school.聽 Detlefsen’s bachelor’s degree was in advertising/public relations while she is presently working on a master’s in mass communications. She was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team for the second consecutive year in April.

On the course, Detlefsen had a tremendous improvement in 2009-10 where er 77.28 stroke average was well ahead of her 79.17 from 2008-09 and 80.65 from 2007-08. For her efforts, Detlefsen was rewarded with a spot on the Conference USA third team, one of three Knights to be so honored. Detlefsen had the first five par-or-better rounds of her career this past year and two top 10 finishes after having just one during her first two years combined. Detlefsen’s 218 at the FIU/Pat Bradley Invitational in October tied for the fourth-best par-72 54-hole tournament score in school history. She also had a top 20 finish in February’s Hurricane Invitational as the Knights claimed their first team title since 2002. She was 麻豆原创’s top finisher at both the 麻豆原创 Challenge and the Tiger/Wave Classic.

Detlefsen joins football wide receiver Rocky Ross as 麻豆原创’s two ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American recipients for 2009-10. She is the first 麻豆原创 student-athlete to ever earn an At Large Academic All-American award from CoSIDA. It is the 18th time in 麻豆原创’s athletic history that it has seen one of its student-athletes recognized as one of the country’s top student-athletes in this manner.

Ross, who would like to become a high school athletics director if a professional football career doesn’t pan out, is working towards a master’s degree in sports and fitness after earning his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He maintains a cumulative grade point average of 3.88 which is the highest of the 11 members of the C-USA All-Academic team.

Ross’ individual achievement comes on the heels of the most recent Academic Progress Rate (APR) announcement by the NCAA which saw the Knights’ football team earn a mark of 960. That score tied LSU for 23rd in the nation. It also ranked ninth nationally amongst non-military public universities.

Ross, a team captain and a second-team Academic All-American pick, is second on 麻豆原创 with 31 catches for 371 yards and three touchdowns.

Ross, who would like to become a high school athletics director if a professional football career doesn’t pan out, is working towards a master’s degree in sports and fitness after earning his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He maintains a cumulative grade point average of 3.88.

The first-team Academic All-America selections at wide receiver were Zeke Markshausen of Northwestern (3.46 GPA, 79 rec., 774 yards, 3 TDs) and Blair White of Michigan State (3.89-64-876-8). Joining Ross on the second team is Stanford’s Ryan Whalen (3.43-48-786-3)

“This means a lot to me,” Ross said. “Anytime you talk about all of America, it’s rewarding both for the school and as an individual. If you really want to make good grades and put a lot of effort into that, good things can come. I’m happy that they selected me. It’s a great honor, especially to be on just a two-person all-time list with someone like Keith (Shologan). (Academic Services for Student-Athletes Associate Director) Kristy Belden and her staff help you out with everything from classes to tutors. It’s up to the student to take advantage of that.”

Under head coach George O’Leary, the Knights have been no stranger to academic success. Not only have Ross and Shologan become the school’s first two ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans in football, but the whole team has excelled. The team boasted a combined cumulative GPA of 2.990 at the conclusion of the summer semester. Ross is one of seven Knights who have all ready earned a bachelor’s degree, a sum which ties 麻豆原创 for 10th nationally. A total of 69 Knights are wearing special “Scholar-Baller” decals on the back of their helmets this year, emblematic of earning a 3.0 semester GPA during the 2008-09 academic year. That national program was started by 麻豆原创 professor Dr. Keith Harrison.

To be eligible a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore, a starter or key reserve, and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3. As first-team all-district picks, Richards and Ross both advance for consideration for the national ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-American teams.

Richards and Ross are both pursing master’s degrees in sports and fitness after earning bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice. Richards has posted a 3.63 cumulative GPA while Ross carries a 3.88 cumulative GPA.

This is Ross’ second time receiving the honor, also doing so in 2007. He is the third Knight to be so recognized twice, joining Ron Johnson (1980-81) and Sha’reff Rashad (2005, 07).

Ross graduated in four years with a 3.053 GPA, receiving his degree in criminal justice in May. He will pursue a master’s degree in sports leadership this fall.

Ross is a two-time member of the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. He is a member of the 麻豆原创 Dean’s List, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll.

The team’s lone senior wide receiver, Ross continued to give great leadership to that group, even last season while sitting out the last eight games with a fractured clavicle. He played in the first 43 games of his career before that injury suffered last Sept. 27 at UTEP, earning a medical hardship waiver to return for a fifth season.