Dec. 3, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. - UCF senior wide receiver Rocky Ross (Jacksonville, Fla.) was named on Thursday to the Conference USA Football All-Academic Team in a vote of the league's Sports Information Directors. The team consists of those judged to be the best 11 student-athletes in the conference regardless of position.
Ross was also named by members of CoSIDA on Nov. 24 to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team, becoming just the second Knight to ever be so honored.
Ross, who would like to become a high school athletics director if a professional football career doesn't pan out, is working towards a master's degree in sports and fitness after earning his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. He maintains a cumulative grade point average of 3.88 which is the highest of the 11 members of the C-USA All-Academic team.
A team captain, Ross is second on UCF with 37 catches this year for 412 yards and three touchdowns. He caught one of UCF's most crucial touchdowns of the season as he nabbed the game-winning score with 0:23 left to play in an ESPN primetime 21-20 win over Marshall at Bright House Networks Stadium. He also caught UCF's lone touchdown against No. 9 Miami. Ross returned punts for the first time in his career at the start of the year, gaining 99 yards on eight returns for a solid 12.4-yard average. His 153 career catches rank seventh in school history and his 1,935 career receiving yards place him 10th in UCF lore.
He has helped lead the Knights to an 8-4 record (6-2 C-USA) and a berth in the St. Petersburg Bowl on Dec. 19 at Tropicana Field against a yet to be announced BIG EAST Conference foe. For all of the latest information on that game, including tickets and travel, head to UCFBowl.com.
Under head coach George O'Leary, the Knights have been no stranger to academic success. Not only have Ross and Keith Shologan (2007) become the school's first two ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans in football, but the whole team has excelled. The team boasted a combined cumulative GPA of 2.990 at the conclusion of the summer semester. Ross is one of seven Knights who have all ready earned a bachelor's degree, a sum which ties UCF for 10th nationally. A total of 69 Knights are wearing special "Scholar-Baller" decals on the back of their helmets this year, emblematic of earning a 3.0 semester GPA during the 2008-09 academic year. That national program was started by UCF professor Dr. Keith Harrison.
The great grades come on the heels of the most recent Academic Progress Rate (APR) announcement by the NCAA which saw the football team earn a mark of 960. That score tied LSU for 23rd in the nation. It also ranked ninth nationally amongst non-military public universities.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.