DALLAS --- Tusculum College placekicker Gareth Rowlands has been named to the National Football Foundation's Hampshire Honor Society.
To qualify for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, a
student-athlete must: be a starter or significant reserve in one's
last year of eligibility at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl
Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II,
Division III or an NAIA college or university; achieve a 3.2
cumulative grade point average throughout the entire course of
undergraduate study; and meet all NCAA-mandated progress towards
degree requirements.
Rowlands, a 6-1, 215-pound senior from Benllech, Wales, enjoyed one
of the finest seasons ever by a Tusculum kicker. The consensus
All-American established school and league single-season records
with his 111 points and 21 field goals made. Rowlands finished
tied for sixth in scoring, averaging, 10.09 points per game. His
111 points were the most this season by a NCAA II kicker.
He went 21-for-26 in field goals, including a string of 10 in a row
towards the end of the season, which is a new school record. His
streak of 53 consecutive made extra points is also a new school
record. He was one of the 10 national finalists for the Fred
Mitchell Award, which honors the college division (FCS, DII, DIII,
NAIA) placekicker of the year.
Rowlands was named to the Daktronics NCAA II All-America First Team, Associated Press Little All-America Second Team, Don Hansen Football Gazette All-America First Team and D2football.com All-America Second Team.
His 270 career points are the most in school history by a kicker and second amongst all Pioneers. The two-time All-Region and All-South Atlantic Conference standout has accounted for 45 career field goals made, which are a new Tusculum record and tied for 25th most in NCAA II history.
Rowlands is also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District
selection and was selected to play in the Cactus Bowl, the Division
II senior all-star game. He is a member of the SAC Commissioner's
Honor Roll and Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll. The King's
Academy (Tenn.) graduate is majoring in Middle School
Education.
A total of 671 players from 241 schools qualified for membership in
the society's fifth year, showing a steady increase in membership
each year since the inaugural class in 2007.
"We encourage every football-playing school in the country to get involved in this most important initiative," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, "Thanks to the generosity of Jon F. Hanson, we have honored nearly 3,000 of our nation's best and brightest college players over the past five years. This program truly shows the power of football in building tomorrow's leaders."
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