Courtesy of GoCobbers.com, Release: February 7, 2008

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MOORHEAD, Minn (2/07/08)-- Concordia standout senior player Luke Linz (Watkins, Minn./Eden-Valley Watkins HS) has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First team it was announced on Thursday.

He is the second player in program history to earn the Academic All-District First Team honors as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Keith Eckhoff won the award in 2006. Because of his first team award, Linz will now be placed on the ballot for Academic All-American honors.

Linz was one of only three men's or women's players from the MIAC to earn Academic All-District First Team honors. Concordia women's basketball player Melanie Hageman (Sr., Fargo, N.D./Fargo South HS) was one of the other two giving Concordia two of the three first team selections.

Concordia is one of only two schools in the entire nation in the College Division to have both a men's and women's player earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team honors.

Academically, Linz carries a 3.57 grade point average and is majoring in Biology. The honor is given to athletes in the College Division of the Academic All-American award. The College Division includes players from NCAA Division II, III and NAIA from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana schools. Sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible to be nominated. Student-athletes must have a grade-point average above 3.20 (4.0 scale) and have outstanding athletic credentials. College sports information directors in the district vote for the teams.

Linz was named to the MIAC All-Conference First Team in 2006-07 and is currently leading the team in scoring in 2007-08. He ranks fourth in the MIAC in scoring in conference games this season with an 18.9 points per game average in the team's 15 league games.

He is currently fourth on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,252 points and is second on the all-time rebounding list with 483. He has scored at least 10 points in 35 consecutive MIAC games and has scored more than 20 points in 21 games during his career.

In 2007-08 he has scored over 30 points on two occasions. He is in the top ten in the MIAC in five different statistical categories this season.

The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team is part of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program, administered by CoSIDA a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The Academic All-America program annually honors over 1600 student-athletes who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom.