Fitch Named a First Team Football Academic All-American®
November 24, 2009
November 24, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. - An economics and mathematics double major with a 3.97 cumulative grade point average, DePauw senior defensive end Alex Fitch has been selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® College Division Football First Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Fitch was a second team selection last year and is the first DePauw student-athlete since 1991 to earn Academic All-America® honors in consecutive years.
The Long Grove, Ill., resident is a member of DePauw's Management Fellows program and has been named to DePauw's Dean's List every semesters in addition to his three Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll selections.
In addition to his normal course load, Fitch also takes one piano class each semester and plans to perform a junior recital this year. He also is a recipient of the Timothy Pearson Scholarship, the Stuart and Jane Watson Delta Tau Delta Scholarship and the Neal Scholarship.
On the field, Fitch started all 10 games for the 7-3 Tigers and totaled 19 tackles including a team-high 6.0 sacks. He also shared the team lead with 6.5 tackles for loss.
A team captain, Fitch led the Tigers with nine quarterback hurries and also had two pass breakups in addition to a blocked kick. He finished his career with nine blocked kicks and is tied for ninth in school history with 14.0 career sacks.
The Tigers shared the SCAC title and earned the program's first trip to the NCAA Championship, losing at Thomas More in last Saturday's first round.
Fitch was a second team all-SCAC player last year and earned first team accolades this year.
A two-time D3football.com Team of the Week selection last season and three times in his career, Fitch was also the SCAC Special Teams Player of the Week once in 2008.
Fitch is DePauw's 41st Academic All-America selection and the 19th football player to earn the honor. He's the first DePauw student-athlete to earn multiple Academic All-America honors since linebacker Tom Beaulieu did the same in 1990 and 1991.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
ESPN The Magazine – winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence – is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized biweekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, please visit the CoSIDA site.
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ACTION PHOTO: Alex Turco
| DePauw's Academic All-America® Honorees | |||
| Year | Sport | Student-Athlete | Team |
| 1958 | Football | Ike Tallman | 3 |
| 1970 | Football | Jim Caesar | 1 |
| 1970 | Men’s Basketball | Richard Tharp | â€?â€?â€? |
| 1971 | Football | Jim Caesar | 1 |
| 1972 | Men’s Basketball | Charles Bowers | 2 |
| 1972 | Men’s Basketball | Gary Pittenger | 2 |
| 1973 | Football | Neil Oslos | 1 |
| 1973 | Men’s Basketball | Gordon Pittenger | 1 |
| 1976 | Men’s Basketball | Rick Huser | 3 |
| 1980 | Football | Jay True | 1 |
| 1980 | Football | Joe Johnson | 2 |
| 1984 | Football | Rich Bonnacorsi | 2 |
| 1984 | Football | Tim Weaver | 2 |
| 1985 | Football | Tony DeNicola | 1 |
| 1985 | Women's At�Large (Swimming) | Jean Chamness | 3 |
| 1986 | Baseball | David Chalmers | HM |
| 1986 | Football | Timothy Weaver | 2 |
| 1986 | Women's At�Large (Swimming) | Nancy Gritter | 1 |
| 1987 | Football | Michael Sherman | 1 |
| 1987 | Men’s Basketball | David Galle | 1 |
| 1987 | Women's At�Large (Swimming) | Nancy Gritter | 1 |
| 1988 | Women's At�Large (Swimming) | Nancy Gritter | 1 |
| 1990 | Baseball | Pete Land | 1 |
| 1990 | Football | Matt Nelson | 2 |
| 1990 | Football | Tom Beaulieu | 1 |
| 1990 | Women's At�Large (Tennis) | Jennifer Burns | 3 |
| 1991 | Football | Matt Nelson | 1 |
| 1991 | Football | Tom Beaulieu | 1 |
| 1992 | Football | Mike Thomas | 2 |
| 1994 | Football | Mike Callahan | 1 |
| 1996 | Football | Scott Farnham | 2 |
| 1998 | Baseball | Tom Fagan | 3 |
| 1998 | Women's At�Large (Swimming) | Charee Campbell | 2 |
| 2001 | Men's At�Large | Dan Garrison | 3 |
| 2002 | Men’s Basketball | Joe Nixon | 2 |
| 2003 | Men's At�Large (Swimming) | Nate Moch | 1 |
| 2003 | Women's At�Large (Swimming) | Katie Reis | 2 |
| 2006 | Men's Soccer | Nick Noel | 1 |
| 2008 | Women's At�Large (Tennis) | Erin Andrade | 3 |
| 2008 | Football | Alex Fitch | 2 |
| 2009 | Football | Alex Fitch | 1 |
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