{"id":150,"date":"2020-11-03T05:03:08","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T05:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/caw-2020\/?page_id=150"},"modified":"2021-01-14T15:43:59","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T15:43:59","slug":"academic-excellence-student-athletes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/wac\/academic-excellence-student-athletes\/","title":{"rendered":"Academic Excellence: Student-Athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: STUDENT-ATHLETES<\/h1>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.3″ custom_padding=”45px|0px|45px|0px|true|false” locked=”off”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.7.3″ custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_width_px=”1440px”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”Daniel Block” image=”https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/caw-2020\/files\/2021\/01\/Daniel-Block-960×1280-1.jpg” _builder_version=”4.7.3″ header_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” header_font_size=”22px” body_font=”Roboto|300|||||||” body_text_color=”#898f99″ text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|||” custom_padding=”|||” animation_direction=”bottom” animation=”off”][\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”Brianna Barnhill” image=”https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/caw-2020\/files\/2021\/01\/Brianna-Barnhill-960×1280-1.jpg” _builder_version=”4.7.3″ header_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” header_font_size=”22px” body_font=”Roboto|300|||||||” body_text_color=”#898f99″ text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|||” custom_padding=”|||” animation_direction=”bottom” animation=”off”][\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”Hans Hach” image=”https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/caw-2020\/files\/2021\/01\/Hans-Hach-960×1280-1.jpg” alt=”Max Lucado” _builder_version=”4.7.3″ header_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” header_font_size=”22px” body_font=”Roboto|300|||||||” body_text_color=”#898f99″ text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|||” custom_padding=”|||” animation_direction=”bottom” animation=”off”][\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Our Story Section” _builder_version=”4.7.3″ custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Text Area” _builder_version=”4.7.3″ custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.3″ text_font=”Roboto|300|||||||” text_text_color=”#474747″ max_width=”800px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” animation_direction=”bottom” custom_css_main_element=”font-weight: 400″]<\/p>\n

ACU student-athletes have been awarded <\/span>33<\/span> prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships since 1966, with former track and field standout Charles Christmas as the first recipient. Those <\/span>winners represent the <\/span>fifth-highest<\/span> total among all universities and colleges in the state, behind only Texas, Trinity, Rice and SMU.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sixty-two<\/span> Wildcat student-athletes also have been voted and\/or named Academic All-America on <\/span>84<\/span> occasions, with <\/span>16<\/span> of them earning multiple academic all-America honors. The first was football player Jack Griggs<\/strong> in 1963 (first team), and the most recent are football players Jack Gibbens<\/strong> (first team) in 2019 and Josh Fink<\/strong> (first team) in 2018, women\u2019s softball player Brianna Barnill<\/strong> in 2018, women\u2019s soccer player Kelsie Roberts<\/strong> (first team) in 2016, distance runner Daniel Block<\/strong> in 2015, and tennis players Micah Hermsdorf<\/strong> and Hans Hach<\/strong> in 2013.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Football players <\/span>Don Harrison<\/b> (1973-75), <\/span>Greg Stirman<\/b> (1973-75) and <\/span>Bill Clayton<\/b> (1987-89); tennis players <\/span>Robby Scott<\/b> (1993-95) and <\/span>Julie Mavity<\/b> (1997-99); and pole vaulter <\/span>Katie Eckley<\/b> (2003-05) were named Academic All-America three times<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a senior in 2020, Gibbens was named a finalist for the Walter V. Campbell Trophy, known as the academic Heisman. The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame annually recognizes an individual with the award as the best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.3″ custom_padding=”45px|0px|45px|0px|true|false” locked=”off”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.7.3″ custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_width_px=”1440px”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”Jack Griggs” image=”https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/caw-2020\/files\/2020\/12\/Jack-Griggs-960×1280-1.jpg” _builder_version=”4.7.3″ header_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” header_font_size=”22px” body_font=”Roboto|300|||||||” body_text_color=”#898f99″ text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|||” custom_padding=”|||” animation_direction=”bottom” animation=”off”][\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”Kelsie Roberts” image=”https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/caw-2020\/files\/2020\/11\/Kelsie-Roberts-960×1280-1.jpg” _builder_version=”4.5.3″ header_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” header_font_size=”22px” body_font=”Roboto|300|||||||” body_text_color=”#898f99″ text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|||” custom_padding=”|||” animation_direction=”bottom” animation=”off”][\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”Jack Gibbens” image=”https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/caw-2020\/files\/2020\/11\/Jack-Gibbens-960×1280-1-1.jpg” alt=”Max Lucado” _builder_version=”4.5.3″ header_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” header_font_size=”22px” body_font=”Roboto|300|||||||” body_text_color=”#898f99″ text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|||” custom_padding=”|||” animation_direction=”bottom” animation=”off”][\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: STUDENT-ATHLETESACU student-athletes have been awarded 33 prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships since 1966, with former track and field standout Charles Christmas as the first recipient. Those winners represent the fifth-highest total among all universities and colleges in the state, behind only Texas, Trinity, Rice and SMU. Sixty-two Wildcat student-athletes also have been voted and\/or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3443,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-150","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nAcademic Excellence: Student-Athletes - Western Athletic Conference | Abilene Christian University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/wac\/academic-excellence-student-athletes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Academic Excellence: Student-Athletes - Western Athletic Conference | Abilene Christian University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: STUDENT-ATHLETESACU student-athletes have been awarded 33 prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships since 1966, with former track and field standout Charles Christmas as the first recipient. 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