Butler Places Eight On Academic All-PFL Team

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Butler’s championship football squad, led by senior Spencer Summerville and junior Grant Hunter, had eight players named to the 17th Annual Academic All-Pioneer Fooftball League Team, announced by the league office.  The Bulldogs had six players named first team and two picked to the second team.

Butler players chosen first team Academic All-PFL were Summerville, Hunter, junior Scott Gray and sophomores Andrew Huck, Mark Giacomantonio and David Lang.  Named to the second team from Butler were senior Derek Guggenberger and junior Mike Staniewicz.

Summerville, a defensive back with a 3.50 grade point average as a secondary education major, was a repeat first team selection.  He was a second team All-Academic performer in 2007.  Summerville, who finished third on the team in tackles last fall, was a first team All-PFL performer in 2009.

Hunter, a secondary education major with a 3.62 GPA, was one of three Academic All-Americans on this year’s Academic All-PFL squad.  The Butler defensive end was named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America team, along with Adam Rundh of Valparaiso and Brandon Wingeier of Dayton.  Hunter, a second team All-PFL performer, led the Bulldogs in tackles for loss (11.5) and quarterback sacks (10) last fall.

Gray, a secondary education major with a 3.08 GPA, was Butler’s leading rusher in 2009 with 868 yards, while Huck, a biology major with a 3.53 GPA, led the Bulldogs in passing with 2,454 yards and 21 touchdowns.  Gray was a first team All-PFL performer, while Huck earned honorable mention on the All-League team.  The two helped Butler lead the PFL in total offense with a school-record 4,644 yards.

Giacomantonio, who boasts a 3.62 GPA as an economics major, led the PFL and ranked ninth in the NCAA Division I FCS in pass interceptions in 2009 with five.  The starting safety, who earned honorable mention All-PFL recognition, finished as Butler’s fourth-leading tackler.  Lang, a placekicker with a 3.65 GPA as a biology major, was Butler’s third-leading scorer with 54 points.

Guggenberger, who has a 3.20 GPA as an economics major, earned honorable mention All-PFL honors as a linebacker.  He was Butler’s second-leading tackler in 2009.  Staniewicz, who has a 3.13 GPA in economics, was a second team All-PFL offensive tackle in 2009.

The eight Butler players were among 49 student-athletes named to the 2009 Academic All-PFL squad.

Pioneer Football League athletic directors established the Academic All-PFL squad in 1993 as a way to recognize the league’s outstanding student-athletes.  To be nominated, the student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.00 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale).  No athlete is eligible until he has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his institution.