MIAC Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Fourteen Saint John's University football student-athletes received 2019 Fall Academic All-MIAC recognition on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Those honored (listed alphabetically) include: 

-Junior quarterback/holder Chris Backes (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech), an economics major with a 4.0 GPA;
-Sophomore defensive back Keaton Ficker (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori), an economics major with a 3.67 GPA;
-Junior offensive lineman Jarod Fike (St. Paul, Minn./White Bear Lake), a communication and English double-major with a 3.63 GPA;
-Junior defensive lineman Collin Franz (Otsego, Minn./Rogers), a Hispanic studies major with a 3.75 GPA;
-Junior defensive lineman Hank Hagen (Waseca, Minn.), a global business leadership major with a 3.51 GPA;
-Junior tight end Tyler Johnson (Willmar, Minn.), a mathematics major with a 3.98 GPA;
-Sophomore defensive back John Kohler (Birchwood, Wis./Rice Lake), an integrative science major (pre-medicine emphasis) with a 3.69 GPA;
-Sophomore tight end Joe Lang (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower), an accounting major with a 3.70 GPA;
-Sophomore wide receiver Matt Mohr (Chisago City, Minn./Chisago Lakes), a global business leadership major with a 3.59 GPA; 
-Sophomore offensive lineman Cameron Murphy (Willmar, Minn.), a global business leadership major with a 3.59 GPA;
-Senior linebacker Alex Sais (Los Lunas, N.M./St. Pius X), an accounting major with a 3.77 GPA;
-Junior linebacker Nick Schmitt (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech), a communication major with a 3.50 GPA;
-Sophomore running back Henry Trost (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes), an accounting and global business leadership double-major with a 3.91 GPA;
-Senior wide receiver Andrew VanErp (Battle Lake, Minn./Ottertail Central), a biology major (pre-dentistry emphasis) with a 3.58 GPA.

In order to qualify for Academic All-MIAC recognition, student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior or senior with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Athletically, football student-athletes must compete in 50 percent of their team's varsity, regular-season contests to qualify.

For the eighth consecutive year, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) honored a record number of fall sport student-athletes, 431 total, with Academic All-Conference recognition. 

The Academic All-MIAC distinction was the second consecutive for Backes, Fike, Franz, Sais and VanErp. Backes earned the MIAC Elite 22 Award, which is presented to the individual with the highest GPA among the conference's top two teams in the final standings, for the second straight year.

Sais earned College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors for the second consecutive season this fall and was joined on the 2019 team by Trost and senior defensive lineman Kyle Borgeson (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes). 

The Johnnies have now had 43 Academic All-District selections in the past 15 seasons, including a linebacker in each of the last eight.

SJU (12-2, 7-1 MIAC) won a share of its MIAC-record 34th conference title and made its sixth consecutive postseason appearance in the NCAA Division III Playoffs, ending the season ranked as high as No. 3 nationally.