51³Ô¹ÏÍø wide receiver Chris Looney capped an amazing senior season by being named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Division I Football Team.
Looney was selected for first-team honors by the College Sports Information Directors of America. It is 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s first Academic All-America recipient since John Frieser in 2003.
Looney, like Frieser in his senior year, also was named Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Last month, Looney was named to the Capital One Academic All-District I Team.
An and major with a 3.90 grade-point average, Looney led the Raiders to a 8-4 record and the Patriot League championship. He earned All-Patriot League second-team honors after leading 51³Ô¹ÏÍø in all three receiving categories — 43 receptions, 776 yards, and six touchdowns.
Looney was joined on the Academic All-America first team at wide receiver by Liberty’s Pat Kelly. The second-team wideouts were Montana State’s Tanner Bleskin and Central Michigan’s Cody Wilson.
Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones was named 2012 Capital One Academic All-America of the Year.
Looney, a Verona, N.J., native, has received the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Dean’s Award for Excellence and been placed on the school’s Athletics Honor Roll four times apiece. He is a Charles A. Dana Scholar for “superior achievement as well as demonstrated leadership in the college community.â€
He also has done plenty of work off the field in his time in Hamilton.
Looney has been part of the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Leadership Academy for three years and is an executive board member for Uplifting Athletes, helping to raise more than $15,000 for ependymoma research. He also participated in events for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, breast cancer research, and served as a mentor for fifth-grade students on the dangers of drugs and alcohol.