University of Tennessee at Chattanooga seniors Nick Pollard and Davis Tull were named to the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star team this week. Tull and Pollard were among the 50 honors among the 17th annual selections.
There were 103 total nominees overall, and Tull and Pollard were the only two selected from the Southern Conference. The Missouri Valley Football Conference led all leagues with nine student-athletes named to the All-Star Team, and the Big Sky Conference followed with eight award winners from its member institutions.
"The FCS ADA is proud to recognize its Academic All-Star Team for the 17th-straight season," stated FCS ADA President Ken Beazer, director of athletics, Southern Utah University. "This year, the team was selected from the highest number of nominees since 2002. It is extremely admirable what our football student-athletes are able to accomplish in the classroom and on the field."
Football players from all Football Championship Subdivision institutions are eligible for the award. Each of the nominees was required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or key player with legitimate athletics credentials. He must have reached his second year of athletics and academic standing at the nominated institution and have completed a minimum of one full academic year at the nominated institution. He must also have participated in 50 percent of the games played at his designated position.
Pollard earned a degree in Criminal Justice prior to the start of the 2014 season and is currently working on a Master’s in Business Administration. He had a 3.69 undergraduate g.p.a. and a 4.0 in the fall semester. On the field, Pollard was a first team All-SoCon punter after finishing 20th in the FCS with a 41.7 average per punt.
Tull is a three-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time Academic All-American. He graduated in December with a degree in Health & Human Performance with a 3.52 overall g.p.a. This is Tull’s second appearance on the FCS ADA Academic All-Star team.
Prior to the arrival of head coach Russ Huesman in 2009, the Mocs only had one individual make the FCS ADA Academic All-Star in school history. Since 2009, five Mocs have been named to the team eight times.