Joseph Kasper of Baldwin Wallace Earns Capital One Academic All-American Honors

2013 Dec 4

Baldwin Wallace University football student-athlete, Joseph Kasper of Mentor has been named as a 2013 Capital One Academic All-American. This is the most prestigious honor a collegiate football student-athlete can receive. Only one NCAA Division III institution had more student-athletes named to the team than BW.

To qualify to become a CAPITAL ONE Academic All-American, each student-athlete had to have a minimum 3.3 grade point average or higher, be a key starter or reserve, play in a minimum of 70 percent of his/ her teams games at the time of nomination and be a first-team CAPITAL ONE Academic All-District selection.

BW has a rich tradition of excellence in both academics and football. Overall, the University has 89 Academic All-America student-athletes since the program's inception in 1970-71 for the most of any Ohio Athletic Conference school and the second most of any small college or university in Ohio. In addition, twenty-eight (28) of the 89 selections have been in the sport of football.

"We are extremely proud of the hard work that Joseph displayed in the classroom, on the football field and in leading our younger student-athletes," said 12-year veteran Head Coach John Snell '87, who has a 77-45 career record and emphasizes academics and community service as the hallmarks of his winning program. "Joseph is a leader of a group of young men who have truly dedicated themselves to being true student-athletes."

Kasper is a junior safety who carries a 3.944 grade average in political science and has the highest grade average on the Yellow Jacket varsity. He had his best season as a collegian with 66 tackles to rank third on the team and joined Flegal and Barley on the Academic All-OAC squad this fall. He also had five pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble that he recovered and returned 48 yards for a touchdown. The Dean's List student and Jacket Scholar enters his senior season with 73 career tackles. Kasper also is a member of the Alpha Lambda and Chi Sigma Alpha honor societies and was a first-team CAPITAL ONE Academic All-District 7 pick.

"Joe had a breakthrough year and was a solid student and athlete for the third straight year, said Snell. "Here's a guy with a 3.94 grade average who it seems is always in the middle of the play. Joe has excellent instincts and awareness and is well-deserving of this award."