FRISCO, Texas – The Southland Conference places three student-athletes on the 15th annual Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star Team, the association announced last week. There were 54 selections out of 98 nominees.

Lamar junior punter Kollin Kahler, Northwestern State senior kicker John Shaughnessy and Sam Houston State graduate tight end T.J. Jones were the three Southland selections to the 2012 FCS ADA All-Star Team.

Kahler, a native of Waco, Texas, posted a 3.90 GPA in exercise science while starting in all 12 games for the Cardinals. Kahler was named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-District VII First Team by CoSIDA and has also been named to the Lamar President’s List four times for a perfect 4.00 GPA.

Shaughnessy, a second-team All-Southland kicker last fall, earned a 3.69 GPA in biology with a concentration in pre-med. The senior from Shreveport, La., was named to the Capital One Academic All-District VI team and was one of eight finalists for the three Academic All-America kicker positions. Shaughnessy, who ranked 21st nationally in field goals per game, was also a semifinals for the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award last fall.

Jones, who hails from Waco, Texas, earned first-team All-Southland honors this year as the starting tight end for the national runner-up Bearkat football team. Jones earned a 3.50 GPA in health as a graduate student while playing for the national most prolific scoring offense in FCS football.

Football players from all FCS institutions are eligible for these awards. Each of the nominees were required to have a minimum GPA of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or key player with legitimate athletics credentials. The student-athlete must have reached his second year of athletics and academic standing at the nominated institution and have completed a minimum of one full academic year at the nominate institution. The student-athlete must also have participated in 50 percent of the games played at his designated position.