DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University offensive tackle Max Scharping, a junior who earned his undergraduate degree from NIU with a 3.99 GPA in kinesiology and is currently pursuing his master's in exercise physiology and fitness leadership, on Thursday was named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division I Football second team.
 
Scharping is the first Huskie football player selected to the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-America® team since 2012, when a school record three NIU players were honored. All-time, Scharping is the 13^th NIU football student-athlete to be named an Academic All-American by CoSIDA, with Huskies collecting the honor a total of 16 times. Scharping is just the second NIU offensive lineman to earn Academic All-America status, and the first since Jim Jacobson was a second-team choice in 1976.
 
"For Max to be recognized as an Academic All-American is certainly an award well-deserved by him with the work ethic he displays and the relentless nature he goes about his academics, which is mirrored by the way he goes about his business on the field," said NIU Head Coach Rod Carey.  "That's a rare combination, and in my opinion, he deserves to be both an All-American and an Academic All-American."
 
 "This award is really cool because it shows that someone's out there paying attention and your hard work [in both areas] is paying off," Scharping said. "It's one of the most elite awards, only certain people get this distinction, so it's really cool to receive it."
 
Scharping, a first-team All-MAC offensive lineman in each of the last two seasons who allowed just five total quarterback pressures on 425 pass blocking snaps in 2017, said an emphasis on excelling in academics was instilled in him at an early age.
 
"I was always expected by my parents to have good grades," he said. "It wasn't OK to come home with a C and personally, I didn't want to come home with a B.  It kind of grew from that.  I just kind of expect it of myself at this point.  Now, a big part of being successful [at both] is time management, making sure you're devoting time and focus to each aspect. "
 
On Wednesday, Scharping, who will complete his junior season at the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit when the Huskies take on Duke on December 26^th, was named to the Academic All-MAC team for the third consecutive season.  He has also been selected as a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in each of the last two seasons.  
 
CoSIDA began presenting the CoSIDA Academic All-America ® teams in 1952 and since then, has honored thousands of deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America scholar-athlete honors.
 
-- NIU --