(Ann Arbor, MI) - The College Sport Communicators (CSC) released their 27-man Academic All-America football team for the 2024 season on Tuesday afternoon and a pair of Cardinals were named to the First Team Academic All-America.
FIRST TEAM
WILL DOWLING | SR | OAK HARBOR, OHIO
This season marks the second time Will Dowling has earned Academic All-America honors having been named to the first team last season as well. He is one of six NAIA team members to have been named for repeat selection. He earned a 3.71 GPA this season while studying History & Special Education.
Will was a big piece on the Cardinal offensive line that helped the team average 350.6 total yards per game and recorded the third most rushing yards on the year.
ETHAN BURROWS | SO | ESSEXVILLE, MICHIGAN
This season marks the first Academic All-America award for Ethan Burrows. He is one of three NAIA members to have earned a perfect 4.0 GPA this season while being apart of the Justice & Public Policy major.
Ethan was a huge part of the defense leading the MSFA mideast division with 5 interceptions and leading all defensive backs in the division with 73 total tackles. Playing at safety for the Cards, Burrows broke up two passes and tallied 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
Dowling becomes the first two-time Cardinal to earn First Team status in consecutive years, as he earned the honor in 2023 as well, while Burrows joins the other six previous Cardinals who have earned the CSC All-America status in program history. Hunter Cox (2016), Jay Koski (2017), Tim Koehler (2018), Hunter Maynard (2021), Andrew Foerster (2021), and Casey Rauch (2022) are the previous Cardinals to have also been named to the team.
The 2024 Academic All-America Football Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes football honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
College Sport Communicators is a 3,200+ member national association for strategic, creative, and digital communicators across intercollegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. The organization was previously known as College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and was changed to its new name in August of 2022.
Members of the All-America team must have participated in at least 50% of the team's matches throughout the season while also maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.50. The student-athlete must also complete one full calendar year at the institution and reach sophomore athletic eligibility to qualify for the honor.
