(Austin, TX) Concordia football's Jay Koski (JR/Portage, MI) has been named to the prestigious Academic All-America 1st Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The junior was made eligible for the award after his All-District Team selection earlier this year. Koski is a repeat member ot he All-District team but makes his first on the All-America 1st team. Koski joins fell Cardinals football player Hunter Cox as the only other Cardinal to earn CoSIDA All-America honors.
Coming off of his third year in the program and second as a starter, the linebacker has emerged as one of the top tacklers on the team and in the MSFA Mideast League. Koski finished this season leading the team with 82 tackles which was the fourth most in the Mideast Division. The Portage, Michigan native also recorded 4 sacks over the course of the season to lead the Cardinals and be sixth in the division. Serving as a captain this year, Koski helped anchor a defense that ranked towards the top in the NAIA with 106.4 rushing yards allowed per game (9th), 19.4 points allowed per game (7th), and 198 first downs given up (19th). Thanks to his defensive performance this season, Koski was one of 21 Cardinals named to an All-MSFA Mideast Team as he brought home 2nd Team honors. Off the field, Koski has maintained a 3.97 cumulative GPA (4.0 scale) majoring in Finance.
Koski is the fifth Cardinal to be named to an All-America team and fourth to be given 1st Team honors since CUAA joined CoSIDA in 2015. Koski is one of 27 student-athletes on the College Division Football All-America team. Other MSFA Mideast League players on the team include: Grant Hohlbein (WR/Taylor), Connor Holcomb (OL/St. Francis, IN), and Piercen Harnish (LB/St. Francis, IN).
The CoSIDA Academic All-America teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. CoSIDA honors student athletes from the NAIA as well as NCAA Divison I, II, III who have earned at least a 3.3 GPA in the classroom and are of a sophomore status academically. For more information about the Academic All-District™ and Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit the official CoSIDA website.
