NIU football players Thomas Hammock, P.J. Fleck and Jason Frank recently were named to the 2001 Verizon-CoSIDA Academic All-American Football Team.

The District V team encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario and Manitoba.

To qualify for the team, a player must be a sophomore or older, start or be a key reserve and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or better.

“You can only shake your head in amazement and ask yourself, how do these young people manage to commit to excellence on the football field and in the classroom,” said NIU coach Joe Novak.

Novak’s players are no strangers to this award. This is the sixth straight year an NIU player has landed on the Co-SIDA team.

Hammock is one of eight returning players on the All-American team. Hammock joins Andy King and Adam Waugh of Illinois State, Gene Mroczkowski and Travis Dorsh of Purdue, Ryan Lemberg and Nick Bamber of Valparaiso and Joe Gonzales of Indiana, as repeat selections.

The junior is only 51 yards away from his second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season and carries a 3.26 GPA in marketing. Hammock was an All-MAC first-team selection and was named the team’s most improved player.

Fleck joins the team for the first time this season with a 3.2 GPA in elementary education. Fleck leads the Huskies in receptions (52) and yards (652) and is only the eighth member of the NIU 50-Catch Club. The junior currently is ranked in the top 50 in the NCAA in receptions and catch yardage.

Jason Frank joins teammate Fleck as a first time member of the team. Frank ranks 11th on the team in tackles with 31 and has contributed three quarterback pressures from his left end position. The sophomore from Minnesota is a two-time Huskie Scholar and carries a 3.22 GPA in liberal arts and sciences.