Fresno State Athletics
McIntyre and Stitser Earn Academic Honors
11/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 15, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - While the Fresno State football team continues to gain national notoriety and prepare for his week's showdown with No. 1 USC, a couple Bulldogs have added to the team's academic trophy case.
Senior defensive end Garrett McIntyre and sophomore kicker Clint Stitser were selected to the Academic All-District 8 squad. The district is comprised of all Division I schools from Arizona, California, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
McIntyre and Stitser will be placed on the national Academic All-America ballot. The Academic All-American team is selected annually by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
McIntyre, who ranks No. 3 on the Fresno State career record list with 25 sacks, has been selected to the Academic All-WAC team for three consecutive years. He was one of four players to be selected first-team All-WAC and Academic All-WAC in 2004. He spearheads the Bulldog defense that leads the WAC and ranks No. 8 in the nation in scoring defense. McIntyre is on schedule to graduate in four years with a degree in construction management with a GPA of 3.30.
Stitser has been among the national kicking leaders this season, his first as the starting kicker. He was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation's top place kicker. He ranked as high at No. 10 in the nation in scoring and No. 12 in the nation in field goals made per game. Stitser maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA as a business major.
"It's a great tribute and honor for these two outstanding young men," said head coach Pat Hill. "Their accomplishments on the field and the class room are excellent and they are great ambassadors for the program."
These honors add to Fresno State's already impressive list of academic accomplishments in the Pat Hill era. The Dogs have produced a WAC-best 65 Academic All-WAC players over the last nine years, and the Fresno State football NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 939 ranks fourth-best among the 28 Division I-A institutions in the west. Only Stanford, Air Force and Utah produced a higher score. That includes all schools in the Pac-10, WAC and Mountain West Conferences.
The No. 16 Bulldogs head to the Los Angeles Coliseum to play No. 1 USC on Saturday. The game can be seen locally on Comcast Cable Channel 14.
Fresno State returns home for the season finale on Dec. 2, playing Louisiana Tech at 6 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium. That game has been designated as Fan Appreciation Day. Tickets for that game are available by calling (559) 278-DOGS or online at www.gobulldogs.com.
