Nov. 28, 2006
WACO, Texas -- Baylor football placed 18 student-athletes on the 2006 Academic All-Big 12 Conference teams, the league office announced recently. A program-record 11 Bears earned first-team honors, while seven were named to the second team. Baylor's total of 18 student-athletes honored as academic all-conference also is a program-record.
Highlighting Baylor's selections is punter Daniel Sepulveda (Sr., Dallas, Texas; accounting). A 2005 first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America selection, Sepulveda joins Kyle Atteberry (1996-99) as the only Baylor football student-athletes to earn first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors four times. Quarterback Shawn Bell (Sr., China Spring, Texas; sport management), linebacker Ben Hixson (So., Southlake, Texas; speech communication) and rover Jake LaMar (So., Bedford, Texas; business) earned first-team honors for the second consecutive season.
Joining Bell, Hixson, La Mar and Sepulveda on the first team were the following: offensive lineman Thad Boatner (Fr., Hamilton, Texas; business), place kicker Alex Cammack (Sr., Longview, Texas; biology), receiver Andrew Heard (Sr., Cuero, Texas; theology), defensive end Jason Lamb (Fr., Richardson, Texas; business), linebacker Joe Pawelek (Fr., Spring Branch, Texas; business), linebacker Ralph Rodriguez (Jr., Fort Stockton, Calif.) and cornerback James Todd (Sr., Marshall, Texas; sport management).
The following Bears earned second-team honors: receiver Jordan Adams (Jr., Arlington, Texas; marketing), free safety Bennett Hoefer (Sr., Woodway, Texas; business), free safety Jordan Lake (Fr., Houston, Texas; business), outside safety Maurice Linguist (Sr., Mesquite, Texas; speech communication), deep snapper Nick Myatt (Sr., Waco, Texas; outdoor recreation), running back Mario Price (Sr., Fort Worth, Texas; health fitness studies), rover Alton Widemon (Jr., Lindale, Texas; health fitness studies).
Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services and the media relations offices, the football academic all-conference team consisted of 92 first-team members and 54 second-team honorees. First-team selections consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better grade point average; second-team selections are those with GPAs between 3.00 and 3.19.
Student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of his team's scheduled contests to qualify. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-atheltes who meet all the criteria except participation percentage also are eligible.
