Two Cardinal's Named To Academic All-District

Gonzalo Barinaga (Milwaukee, Wis./Marquette H.S.) and Chris Miller (Libertyville, Ill./Carmel H.S.), both senior members of the Ball State University football team, have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V Team, which is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

To be nominated for the award, a student-athlete must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 or higher and be a starter or important reserve for their respective team.

Barinaga, a fifth-year senior defensive tackle for the Cardinals, has played in all nine games and started two contests for the nationally ranked football team. He has helped Ball State to a 9-0 overall record and a 5-0 Mid-American Conference mark. Barinaga has three total tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss this season. The pre-med major owns a 3.68 cumulative grade-point average on Ball State’s 4.0 scale and managed a 3.92 GPA last spring.

Miller, a fifth-year senior punter for the Cardinals, has punted 23 times and has a 44.2 average this season. He has forced opponents to start drives inside their own 20-yard line 10 times, including six drives started inside their own 10-yard line. Miller, who does not have enough punts to rank among the national leaders, has helped Ball State rank 10th in the country in net punting. He ranks third in Ball State career records in punts (209) and punt yards (9,403) and is current career average of 45.0 is better than the school record mark of 44.2 by Brad Maynard from 1993-96.

These two Ball State student-athletes will now advance to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America ballot, which will be voted on by CoSIDA and announced Nov. 25. Ball State ranks 24th in the nation in all-time Academic All-Americans.