Cronin earns Academic All-America honors

TOWSON, Md. – Simpson linebacker Mark Cronin earned a spot on the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Football Second Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), as announced Tuesday, Dec. 4.

A senior linebacker from Holstein, Iowa, Cronin owns a 3.90 cumulative GPA while majoring in economics and accounting. Cronin – a team captain – led the Storm in tackles for the second year in a row, making 66 despite playing a majority of the season on a torn ACL. Cronin was a First Team All-Iowa Conference performer in 2012 and had two sacks, six tackles for loss, forced a fumble and tied for the team lead with seven pass breakups. He also returned a blocked punt 35 yards for a touchdown on senior day.

Cronin becomes the 29th Academic All-American in Simpson history and only the second football player to earn the distinction. He is Simpson's first Academic All-American since basketball player Andrew Dau and track athlete Lauren Bucklin claimed the honor in 2010.

Earlier this season, Cronin was named as a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's William V Campbell Trophy for the best scholar-athlete in the country. He was a second-team all-conference linebacker last season and USA Football News honored him as a preseason All-American this year.

During his academic career, Cronin has been named to the President's List (4.0) three times and the Dean's List (3.7) twice. Last year he won the award for the Most Outstanding Junior in the accounting department at Simpson.