Washington's Ben Burr-Kirven named Pac-12 football Scholar-Athlete of the Year
SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 has named WASHINGTON senior Ben Burr-Kirven the football Scholar- Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced today. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.
Burr-Kirven, a two-time first-team Academic All-Pac-12 selection, as well as a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America District 8 honoree, is a comparative literature (cinema studies) major and boasts a 3.69 grade-point average. The senior is well on his way to All-America status this year while performing on and off the field, tallying the most tackles in the nation (155) and ranking second in tackles per game (12.9). His 155 total tackles are the most by any Husky over an entire season since 2011 and is eight away from breaking into the program’s top-10 single-season list.
Burr-Kirven earned two-consecutive Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week awards this season (Sept. 17, Sept. 24), the first Husky to accomplish the feat since 2002. The Menlo Park, Calif., native has been named a 2018 Bednarik Award Semifinalist and 2018 Lott Impact Trophy Semifinalist. He became the first Husky since 1996 to register 20 tackles in a single game, recording 14 solo and six assists against Arizona State on Sept. 22. Burr-Kirven was tabbed second team All-Pac-12 in 2017 after recording a team-best 84 tackles and leading Washington to its eighth-straight bowl appearance in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
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 24 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, women’s lacrosse, 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. The award was first established during the 2008-09 academic year.
Also nominated: Josh Pollack, ARIZ; Patrick Laird, CAL; Kaulana Apelu, ORE; Timmy Hernandez, OSU; Bryce Love, STAN; Adarius Pickett, UCLA; Wyatt Schmidt, USC; Mitch Wishnowsky, UTAH; Peyton Pelluer, WSU.