ORLANDO – The American Athletic Conference announced a number of academic awards for the 2018-19 season on Tuesday and UCF’s Tacko Fall was named the league’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Men’s Basketball.
The recipient of this award must have maintained both excellent academic credentials and outstanding athletic performance during the year. The Faculty Athletic Representatives (FARs) selected Fall as The American’s representative for men’s basketball.
Fall will receive a post-graduate financial scholarship of $2,000 and a trophy. He can accept the scholarship or defer it for a period of two years.
Currently excelling in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League for the Boston Celtics, Fall enjoyed a historic career at UCF. The former Knights center finished his career as the program’s all-time leader in blocked shots and the new NCAA Division I record holder for field goal percentage.
Fall led the Knights on and off the court, working as part of the first UCF team to attain an average GPA of over 3.0, doing so two straight semesters. He earned AAC All-Academic honors this season after graduating with a bachelor’s degree majoring in interdisciplinary studies.
Over four years at UCF, Fall led the Knights to the NIT semifinals in 2016-17 and the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19. He was the 2017 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and an all-conference honoree in 2019.
The American will announce the entirety of its All-Academic Team members, as well the Team Academic Excellence awards on Thursday.