Bristol Named To Verizon Academic All-America First Team
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Dec. 2, 2002 -- Springfield College senior offensive tackle
Ben Bristol (South Hadley, Mass.) has been named to the Verizon Academic All-America College Division Football First Team, announced today.
Bristol, who is the only member of a New England school to be voted to this year’s team, is the second Springfield College football player ever to earn Academic All-America first-team honors. Sean Flanders earned the distinction in 1984. He was named to both the Verizon Academic All-District I Football and the Freedom Football Conference (FFC) Academic All-Conference Teams in 2001 and 2002.
Bristol is a sociology major with a 3.83 cumulative grade-point average. A three-year starter at tackle, he was a key part of an offensive line that leads Division III in rushing (356.7 yards-per-game). Bristol also started on the 2000 team that established a Division III record with 4,275 rushing yards (427.5 ypg).
The Pride not only had an outstanding year on the field but in the classroom. SC led FFC with 19 academic all-conference selections. Six players who were named to the academic all-conference team were also chosen to the FFC all-star team.
The Pride finished the 2002 season with an 8-2 overall record, and won its fourth FFC championship in six years. SC dropped a 16-0 decision to SUNY Brockport in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Nov. 23.
The Verizon Academic All-America team is voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The College Division first and second teams are comprised of student-athletes from 379 Division II and III schools. Twenty-five individuals are on the first team, while 23 players make up the second team.
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Head Coach Mike DeLong
Michael C. “Mike” DeLong ’74 enters his 32nd season as a head football coach in the fall of 2013. He enters his 30th year at Springfield College alone. For the past 28 years, he has been the head coach at Springfield, his alma mater. Mike had also been the head coach at Maine Maritime in Castine, Maine in 1979 and 1980.
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Contact Head Coach Mike Delong
E-Mail | Phone: 413.748.3156
