ST. LOUIS – For the third time in his career, Illinois State senior center Mark Spelman earned Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Academic Team honors, when the conference announced its annual list of recipients Wednesday.
For the second year in a row, Spelman was named to the second-team, after earning honorable mention honors in 2014. Â The Brookfield, Wisconsin, native graduated from Illinois State with a 3.70 cumulative GPA in May and is currently pursuing a master's degree in accounting.
Spelman also earned All-MVFC First-Team honors for the second-consecutive season, making him the first Redbird offensive lineman to earn back-to-back first-team plaudits since Isaiah Wiggins repeated in 2006-07. Spelman started in all 12 games for the Redbirds, who ranked No. 6 in the MVFC in total offense (390.1). Spelman was named MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week, following a great performance in a win over South Dakota State and was named as one of three captains in a vote by his teammates for the season.
A semifinalist for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy, Spelman was also lauded for his athletic and academic skills as a member of the 2015 Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star Team.
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