FLORENCE, Ala. (December 11, 2023) – The United Athletic Conference announced the first-ever UAC Football All-Academic Team on Monday, honoring
Noah Walters,
Tyler Antkowiak and
Sam Contorno from the University of North Alabama.
UNA had three of the 11 honorees — tied with Austin Peay for the most among UAC schools.
The awards are voted on by the league's nine sports information directors based on both academic and athletic merit. All 11 selections had at least a 3.63 GPA, including eight players with a perfect 4.0.
Walters, Antkowiak and Contorno all own a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Walters, a sophomore quarterback from Lincoln, Neb., finished his sophomore year with a perfect 4.0 GPA in Business. The second-year starter ranks 14th in FCS with 21 touchdown passes, 18th with 13.6 points responsible for per game and 25th with 248.5 yards per game of total offense.
Additionally, the quarterback set a single game school record for UNA with five touchdown passes and six touchdowns responsible for, doing it on the road at Austin Peay. He was named UAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 23 after leading UNA to a thrilling 31-30 win over Utah Tech, where he rushed for over 100 yards.
Walters finished the season 224-for-382 passing for 2,346 yards and three touchdowns. He is UNA's FCS era record holder in pass attempts in a season (382) and in a single-game (63). The single game record of 63 he set at Tarleton State is also an all-time school record.
Antkowiak, a redshirt junior linebacker from Trussville, Ala., earned his MBA in Business Administration with a perfect 4.0 GPA. He is also one of four football representatives on UNA's Student Athlete Advisory Committee and was a captain for two games this season.
The redshirt junior played in all 11 games and was a key contributor on special teams. Defensively, Antkowiak had tackles against Mercer, Tennessee Tech and Florida State while adding a pair of QB hurries against the nationally-ranked Seminoles.
Contorno, a redshirt junior from Tuscaloosa, Ala., earned his BBA in Professional Management in Summer 2022 and is currently pursuing a second undergraduate degree in Interior Architecture and Design. He accomplished all of this while maintaining a 4.0 GPA the whole way.
The redshirt junior kicker finished the season with 19 touchbacks on kickoffs. Playing all 11 games, Contorno went 24-28 on extra points and 4-8 on field goals with a long of 42 yards.
To view the other UAC All-Academic honorees,
click here.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
