Sean Mahone Earns Academic All-American Honors

The Senior safety is the first to be named to the team since 2009

On Monday, West Virginia University senior safety Sean Mahone was named to Academic All-America second-team presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as announced today by the organization.

It is the 29th time a West Virginia football player has been named to the team and the first since linebacker Reed Williams was named to the team in 2009.

In the classroom, Mahone posted a 3.6 grade point average, while earning his bachelor’s degree in management information systems. He finished his master’s of business administration degree this May, posting a 3.69 GPA.

Nov 14, 2020; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers safety Sean Mahone (29) celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumble during the third quarter during the fourth quarter against the TCU Horned Frogs at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Mahone, an All-Big 12 Conference second team selection by PFF College, started all 10 games at safety for WVU in 2020. The four-time Academic All-Big 12 selection was the Mountaineers fifth-leading tackler with 54 stops, including 34 solo tackles and two tackles for loss. He also had four pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery. Mahone led WVU in tackles as a junior with 80 stops, including two sacks, five tackles for loss, a forced fumble, an interception and a pass breakup.

The Academic All-American team members are awarded by CoSIDA to the most accomplished student-athletes fo academic and athletic achievement each year since 1952. It is the longest-running and most prestigious academic and athletic award for student-athletes

All nominees must have a GPA of 3.3 or above and be a starter or important reserve. The nominating and voting privileges are held exclusively by CoSIDA members on behalf of student-athletes from throughout the NCAA,

NAIA, Two-year Colleges and Canadian institutions. The members vote on Academic All-District® teams within their division and district. The all-district selections advance to the national ballot where members vote for Academic All-America® teams within their division. Awards for All-District, All-America and All-America of the Year in each sport are sent to the schools for distribution and/or display.

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