CoSIDA Academic All-District Team

UMass Dartmouth defensive back Jacob Burkhead and Western Connecticut State offensive lineman Andrew Schimanski earned CoSIDA Division III Football Academic All-District honors as announced by the organization yesterday. This is the second honor for Burkhead and first for Schimanski.

A native of Plymouth, Mass. and a graduate of Plymouth North High School, Burkhead sports a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average as a Political Science major at the University, as he became the first male and just the second Academic All-America honoree in school history last fall.  A first team all-Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference performer in 2018, Jacob was the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year as a freshman, as he has amassed 57 total tackles (including 40 solo and 6 ½ for losses of 14 yards) while recording five pass breakups this season.  In his career, Burkhead has registered 187 total stops (133 solo) and four interceptions to go with two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 14 pass breakups.

Jacob is one of three UMass Dartmouth student-athletes to earn Academic All-District accolades from CoSIDA in the last calendar year, as he joins former women’s soccer standout Kayla Loycano ’19 and women’s swimming all-conference performer Sarah Murphy ’20 in that category.

Schimanski, a Political Science major is the only student-athlete in District 2 of NCAA Division III to have a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

During the Spring of 2019, Schimanski spent a semester studying abroad in Germany, with a concentration in advanced topics in Political Science and Sociology.

Schimanski primarily lines up as the right tackles for WestConn.  His offense is currently averaging 33.8 points and417.8 total offensive yards through nine games.  The Colonials are among the league's best with 278.2 passing and 139.6 rushing yards per contest this season.

The Colonials, currently 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, face Plymouth State University at the Westside Athletic Complex on Saturday, November 16.  A win over the Panthers will secure a spot in the New England Bowl, which pits the second-place teams from four conferences throughout New England.  The game will be on Saturday, November 23 with the pairings and sites to be announced on Monday.

First-team Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® ballot. First- and second-team (if applicable) Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in early December.

Release courtesy of UMass Dartmouth and Western Conn. State Sports Information