Benkert and Kiser Named to the CoSIDA Football Academic All-District Team

– Complete 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams

Nov. 16, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia quarterback Kurt Benkert and inside linebacker Micah Kiser have been named to the 2017 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic Football All-District team. The duo is being recognized as two of the nation’s top-student athletes for their 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.

This is the second year in a row UVA has had two players named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team. Last year it was Kiser and former UVA punter Nicholas Conte.

Benkert (Cape Coral, Fla., Sr.) is No. 1 in the ACC with 21 passing touchdowns. He is the only player in program history to reach 20 passing touchdowns in multiple seasons. Benkert’s 42 career touchdown passes rank No. 3 all-time at UVA. He was a 2016 graduate from East Carolina with a degree in finance. He is currently acquiring a master degree in higher education from Virginia.

Kiser (Baltimore, Md., Sr.) is No. 1 in the ACC and No. 6 in the nation with 10.8 tackles per game. He has made 106 tackles, 5.0 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss through 10 games. An Associated Press second-team midseason All-American, Kiser is also a finalist for the Campbell Trophy, a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year, a semifinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. Kiser is a 2017 UVA graduate with a degree in foreign affairs. He is also pursuing a master degree in higher education. Kiser was a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2016.

Benkert and Kiser 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 2017-18 DII and DIII Academic All-America teams program.

Benkert and Kiser will now advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees to be announced in December.