Conte Named to the CoSIDA Football Academic All-District Team

Nov. 7, 2016

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia punter Nicholas Conte has been named to the 2016 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic Football All-District team. Conte is being recognized as one of the nation’s top-student athletes for his combined performance athletically and in the classroom.

To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his current institution.

Conte (Sr., Roanoke, Va.) leads the ACC in punting with a 45.5 yards per punt average. He is also No. 10 in the nation in punting average. Conte has 25 punts inside the 20 and 11 of those are inside the 10. Of his 11 punts inside the 10, six are inside the five with five downed at the one. Conte is a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation’s Campbell Trophy, which is known as the Academic Heisman. Conte’s career punting average of 45.1 yards per punt is a UVA record. In the classroom Conte graduated with a degree in human biology last May. He currently is pursuing a master’s in sports administration. Conte made CoSIDA’s District 3 team, which is made up of schools from Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina.

The Academic All-Districts are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the sixth year of the expanded Academic All-America program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division Academic All-America Team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.

The Division II and III Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2016-17 DII and DIII Academic All-America teams program.

Conte will now advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month. ILB Micah Kiser is also an CoSIDA All-District honoree on the All-America ballot.