Cal Poly’s Stephen Sippel named to academic all-star team

Cal Poly senior offensive lineman Stephen Sippel was one of 52 players selected to the 18th annual Football Championship Subdivision Athletic Directors Associations Academic All-Star Team on Friday.

The fifth-year senior from Folsom earned the distinction for the second year in a row and has been named one of 10 finalists for a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship. Sippel started the final 35 games of his career at center, helping the Mustangs lead the nation in rushing offense three consecutive seasons.

“Sippel demonstrated his toughness all of his career,”  head coach Tim Walsh said in a release. “He's a tremendous football player and I have respect for all of the things he has accomplished, including 35 consecutive starts, three all-Big Sky honors and a 3.8 grade-point average in mechanical engineering.”

There were 96 total nominees this year, including nine from the Big Sky Conference. In order to be eligible for the award, nominees must hold a minimum grade-point average of 3.20 in undergraduate study and be a starter or key contributor in athletics who participated in half of the games played as his position.

Sippel will find out if he’s one of the two scholarship winners during the FCS ADA annual membership meeting held June 13-15 in Dallas.

The other nine finalists are: Christopher Beaschler, Dayton, linebacker, 3.68 GPA; James Cowser, Southern Utah, defensive line, 4.0 GPA; Derek Crittenden, Montana, defensive line, 4.0 GPA; Joe Crochet, The Citadel, defensive line, 3.81 GPA; Nick Faraci, Robert Morris, offensive line, 3.94 GPA; Mark Iannotti, Southern Illinois, quarterback, 3.89 GPA; Jacob Judd, Western Illinois, offensive line, 3.9 GPA; Jacob Rathmacher, Northern Iowa, offensive line, 3.87 GPA; and Jake Withnell, Eastern Washington, tight end, 3.91 GPA.

“It is extremely admirable what our football student-athletes continue to accomplish in the classroom and on the field,” FCS ADA President Jeff Tingey said, “and we are excited to recognize them for their efforts.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Cal Poly’s Stephen Sippel named to academic all-star team."