CoSIDA Academic All-America History
One of the most prestigious academic honors a student-athlete can earn is to be named a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America. An exclusive club for an award that has existed since 1952, there have been seven selections among five individuals in the history of Alabama A&M Athletics.
The first of those was Tim McCannelly of football during the 1979-80 season and he was joined a decade later by quarterback Tracy Kendall. The latter would be the first of back-to-back years earning the honor. McCannely would be a Second-Team selection while Kendall would be First-Team both years.
In 2020-21, the Bulldogs delivered an incredible performance that would see them equal the program total in just one year. That would be spearheaded by women's basketball's Dariauna Lewis as she snapped a 29-year drought with her CoSIDA Academic All-America Third-Team selection, becoming both the first female student-athlete to be so honored and the first student-athlete since A&M went Division I in 1998-99.
The program continued to make history in 2020-21 as defensive end Marcus Cushine was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Football Second-Team, making it the first year that the program had had multiple honorees. They would not be done either as men's tennis' Fermin Ruiz Crespo made it three on the year as he earned Third-Team honors in the At-Large category. That made him the first individual to earn that recognition from either tennis program and in that category.
Lewis continued the tradition in 2021-22, becoming just the second Bulldog to repeat as a CoSIDA Academic All-America as she earned Second-Team honors during her senior season.
ABOUT THE COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA PROGRAM
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. They must also be selected as a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in order to be considered. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and the NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
Alabama A&M History of Academic All-America Selections (7 Selections/5 Individuals)
2021-22 - Dariauna Lewis (Women's Basketball) - Second-Team
2020-21 – Fermin Ruiz Crespo (At-Large/Men’s Tennis) – Third-Team
2020-21 - Marcus Cushine (Football) - Second-Team
2020-21 – Dariauna Lewis (Women’s Basketball) - Third-Team
1990-91 – Tracy Kendall (Football) – First-Team
1989-90 – Tracy Kendall (Football) – First-Team
1979-80 – Tim McCannelly (Football) – Second-Team
Updated March 16, 2022, 11:16 a.m.
