2011 Capital One Division III Football Academic All-America Teams

TOWSON, Md. – Just a few weeks after being named Capital One Division III Academic All-District First Team winners, seniors Mike Lane (Medfield, Mass.) and Mike Zupkosky (Westford, Mass.) received the nation’s highest academic honor for a student-athlete by being named to the Academic All-America Second Team.

No Endicott football player in program history has ever achieved Academic All-America status.  Lane and Zupkosky, both Criminal Justice majors, now join men’s soccer Gregory Capece (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) and women’s soccer Colleen Pepin (Fairhaven, Mass.) as 2011 Capital One Division III Academic All-America honorees. 

The Capital One Division III Academic All-America Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA), are composed of student-athletes who are either a starter or significant reserve with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore status athletically and academically at his/her current institution and must be nominated by his/her sports information director.  CoSIDA has been recognizing NCAA scholar-athletes since the 1950’s, selecting more than 15,000 deserving athletes across all divisions in 12 different sponsored sports.

Lane, who finished his Endicott football career as the program’s leader in all major statistical rushing categories, sports a 3.31 GPA and has complemented his degree program with several internships.  He has spent time with the Needham and Medfield Police Departments while contributing time to the Endicott Office of Admissions. 

After a four-year career in which he compiled 5,676 all-purpose yards and 36 touchdowns, Lane manage to collect numerous postseason accolades including NEFC Academic All-Conference, NEFC Co-Offensive Rookie of the Year, and NEFC Boyd Division First Team Running Back. 

Zupkosky is a frequent member of the NEFC Academic All-Conference Team, Endicott’s Dean’s List, and the Endicott Academic Varsity Club.  Athletically, Zupkosky earned NEFC Boyd Division Second Team Center honors in 2010. 

Like Lane, Zupkosky has done a tremendous job of building a resume with internships at the Massachusetts State Police A-Troop Headquarters, the Fitchburg Police Department, the Westford Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police Student Trooper Academy. 

As a member of Endicott’s offensive line for the past four years, Zupkosky was an integral part of the team’s record-breaking 10-1 season that saw the Gulls break program marks in several rushing, passing, and receiving categories.