WALTHAM, Mass. -- Bentley University senior offensive center Jared Kawadler (Sharon/ Xaverian Brothers HS) has been selected to the 2010 ESPN Academic All-America® football first team for the college division by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The college division includes players competing in Division II, Division III and the NAIA, a total of more than 480 institutions.

Kawadler, the only Northeast-10 Conference player to be selected to the elite team and a second-team All-Conference selection, is Bentley's first Academic All-America in the sport of football since Brian Holland was chosen a decade ago.  Overall, he's the fifth Falcon football player to earn Academic All-America honors.

The six-foot-three, 250-pounder and team captain was a three-year starter in the middle of the offensive line for the Falcons. During the 2010 season, he helped anchor a line that yielded only nine sacks on more than 300 passing plays. The team's top three running backs averaged about 5.6 yards per carry, and the Falcon offense produced nearly 392 yards and 29 points a game.

Kawadler has been nothing but a standout in the classroom, amassing a 3.89 grade point average while majoring in both economics-finance and liberal studies.

Academic awards are nothing new for Kawadler, who was one of 121 players from across the country who was chosen as a semifinalist for the William Campbell Trophy (commonly referred to as the Academic Heisman) by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.

Kawadler has been an ESPN Academic All-District selection three times and has made two appearances on the Northeast-10 All-Academic team. Following last season, he received the Northeast-10 Sport Excellence Award for football, as the conference's premier student-athlete.

Bentley finished the 2010 season with a 5-4 record and a four-game winning streak.

Complete Team