Jan. 3, 2006
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette senior linebacker Maurice Bennett (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington) has been named to the Division I-AA Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team.
The honor is the latest in a long line of athletic and academic accolades bestowed upon Bennett this fall. The first Lafayette player to earn All-America status from five national organizations, he was a first team selection by both The Sports Network and the Associated Press.
Bennett was also an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II honoree, along with junior quarterback Brad Maurer. An Economics & Business major who carries a 3.32 grade-point average, Bennett was the only Patriot League football player named as a semi-finalist for the Draddy Trophy, known as the "Academic Heisman."
He completed a 10-week Wall Street internship with Credit Suisse First Boston last summer before leading the Leopards to a share of their second straight Patriot League championship in the fall. Bennett has accepted a job offer with the firm following graduation in May 2006.
Bennett was one of 44 I-AA football players recognized, and the only student-athlete from a Patriot League institution. To be eligible for Academic All-Star honors, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key player with legitimate athletics credentials, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at the nominated institution and have completed one full academic year at the institution.
Now in its 13th year, the Division I-AA Athletics Directors Association has selected Academic All-Stars in each of the last eight seasons. The ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
Stephen Bono '05, the Patriot League's 2004 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was a three-time member of the Academic All-Star team and was one of two recipients of the $5,000 postgraduate scholarship that is awarded annually. He also received a postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA. Bono graduated from Lafayette last May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.
