Mason Named Academic All-America of the Year

St. Norbert College infielder Travis Mason ’14 tops the 2014 Capital One NCAA Division III Baseball Academic All-America team, presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Mason, who earned the title of first-team Academic All-America for two consecutive years, was also named the Academic All-America of the Year for Division III baseball, and is the school’s first-ever honoree. Academic All-America of the Year selections are made from the 11 first-team recipients.

“Travis exemplifies what St. Norbert College stands for in the classroom and athletically,” says Tim Bald (Athletics). “I am pleased that his efforts on and off the field are being rewarded with such a high honor.”

Mason’s Academic All-America honor marks the 56th time that a St. Norbert student-athlete has received Academic All-America mention. In all, 41 different athletes have received the distinction, some of them having been honored more than once.

To be eligible for Academic All-America selection, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.0, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his current institution and be nominated by his sports information director. The Academic All-America team is selected after All-District teams are picked from eight different geographic regions nationally. All first-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Academic All-America ballot.

Mason graduated in May with a perfect 4.00 grade point average while majoring in business administration. He finished the 2014 season with a .355 batting average while hitting five home runs with 32 runs batted in. He was selected first-team All-Midwest Conference for the third consecutive season and was a third-team All-Central Region choice by the American Baseball Coaches Association. Mason shared the team lead in doubles with eight and triples with three for the Green Knights, who finished 24-16 overall and won the Midwest Conference championship. St. Norbert went on to finish fourth at the six-team NCAA Division III Midwest Regional in Whitewater, Wis. Last season, Mason was named second-team All-Central Region by D3baseball.com and the ABCA. He was a team captain the past two seasons.

Mason’s academic honors include the Financial Executives International Student Achievement Award, which is presented to the top finance student at St. Norbert College. The school also bestowed on him the Malcolm E. Schuldes Award for Excellence in Business Administration. Mason volunteers with the Green Bay Black Knights youth baseball, the Pink Flamingo charity softball tournament in De Pere and Bowl for Kids’ Sake.


July 1, 2014