Wrestling | June 14

DeKALB, IL – Redshirt-Senior Mason Kauffman (Stratford, Wis./Stratford) of the Northern Illinois University wrestling team has been named a First Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), which released it's At-Large Academic All-America Teams on Tuesday.
 
Kauffman, who graduated this spring with a 4.0 grade point average in biological sciences, is the first Huskie wrestler to be named an Academic All-American twice. In 2021 he became the third NIU wrestler to earn the national honor with his selection to the third team. That same year he was honored with the 2021 Elite 90 Award at the NCAA Championships. Kauffman is the first NIU student-athlete to earn the honor, given to the athlete with the highest GPA at the NCAA Championship.
 
"Our program continues to be proud of the groundbreaking achievements Mason has received," said head coach Ryan Ludwig. The recognition of his hard work and dedication continue to shine a light on the great experience offered at NIU."
 
A two-time NCAA Championship qualifier, Kauffman was 23-11 this past season and went undefeated against Mid-American Conference competition. He won the 174-pound title at SIUE's Cougar Clash on Dec. 4, 2021. Kauffman was the MAC Co-Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 5 after reaching the title bout at the Illinois Matmen Open. At this year's MAC Championships, Kauffman was one of three Huskies to win an individual title. He was named the MAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week after winning the 174-pound title at the conference meet.
 
Kauffman is the third NIU student-athlete to earn Academic All-America honors this academic year, joining Enrique Banuelos of the men's soccer team and Katie Keller of the softball team.
 
To be eligible to Academic All-American honors, a student-athlete must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games, have completed at least one full calendar year at their current institution, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00 and have been selected to their respective Academic All-District Team by a vote of CoSIDA members.
 
--NIU--