Three Football Players Receive Post-Season Honors

Three Nebraska Wesleyan University football players have been honored as CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 7 selections. The teams were announced Thursday (Nov. 5) and the NWU honorees were led by junior kicker Zach Egger who earned First-Team All-District honors.

With his selection to the Academic All-District first team, Egger advances to the national ballot for ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America. Egger was joined on the team by two Second-Team Academic All-District 7 honorees, including defensive back Garrett Rippen and junior offensive lineman Garek Bebee.

A native of Wood River, Neb., Egger carries a 3.75 cumulative grade-point average in Exercise Science. He leads the entire country in made field goals on the year, averaging 1.6 per game. He is 13-18 on field goals this season, and needs just one more field goal to set the school record for made field goals in a season. Earlier this season, he was named the NAIA National Special Teams Player of the Week for making four field goals in a game.

A native of Culbertson, Neb.and graduate of McCook High School, Rippen is third in the GPAC and 21st in the entire country in tackles with 76 total tackles.

Rippen carries a 3.79 GPA in Business Administration. He leads the NWU defense in tackles from his safety position, and also has 4.5 tackles-for-loss with an interception and fumble recovery.

Bebee has started every game this season at offensive tackle. The Wakefield, Neb., native has now started for three seasons on the NWU offensive line. Bebee has a 3.54  GPA as a Physics major.

He has been the leader on the Prairie Wolves offensive line, which has helped pave the way for the NWU running back to rank seventh in the NAIA in rushing yards.

NWU ranks 10th among all schools in all divisions in the number of football Academic All-Americans. NWU has produced 32 Academic All-Americans in football. As an institution, NWU has 105 Academic All-Americans to rank 12th in the country in the number of Academic All-Americans.

Student-athletes must meet four criteria to earn ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District honors. They must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better, must have at least two terms of attendance at the institution, must be at least a sophomore in athletic eligibility, and must be a starter or key reserve in their respective sport.

The All-District selection is determined by voting of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). District VII is comprised of NCAA Division II and Division III and NAIA institutions from the states of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.