Washington’s Eldrenkamp Named Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year

SAN FRANCISCO - WASHINGTON offensive lineman Jake Eldrenkamp has been named the 2016 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, announced the Pac-12 Conference today. The award, which is presented in each of the 23 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.

Eldrenkamp, a senior from Medina, Wash., graduated cum laude with a degree in business finance and maintained a 3.71 grade point average. As a member of an offense that is third in the nation in scoring and fifth in yards per play, he has started 10 of 12 games this season at left guard after missing two with injury.

Off the field, Eldrenkamp has been on the Conference’s All-Academic first team three times and on the Dean’s List eight times. A CoSIDA Academic All-District member in 2016, he has been on the annual Dean’s List for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years.

In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletics accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in voting for the award.

A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 23 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling.

Also nominated: Jake Matthews, Arizona; Matt Haack, Arizona State; Bradley Northnagel, California; Aaron Howard, Colorado; Johnny Ragin III, Oregon; Dustin Stanton, Oregon State; Conrad Ukropina, Stanford; Andy Phillips, Utah; Eduardo Middleton, Washington State