SWALLOW NAMED ECAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Washington & Jefferson senior quarterback Bobby Swallow has added another award to his growing list of accolades, as he was named ECAC Division III Southwest Football Player of the Year on January 5. Swallow was joined by President teammates Craig Besong, Matt Houy, Dave Bucar, and Jacob Bloomhuff as well as Grove City's Adam Eichler on the ECAC Division III Southwest All-Star team.

WAYNESBURG DUO, SWALLOW EARN ALL-AMERICA HONORS FROM AP, D3FOOTBALL.COM
Three PAC football players were tabbed to All-America teams selected by the Associated Press (AP) and the D3Football.com website on December 20. Waynesburg senior DE D.J. DeWitt was the lone PAC player selected to the AP Little All-America team, as he was a second team honoree. DeWitt's Yellow Jacket teammate and classmate, kick/punt returner Scott Cree, was named to the All-America Third Team by D3Football.com, while W&J senior quarterback Bobby Swallow was a honorable mention pick by the website.

SWALLOW, STEINMETZ NAMED ALL-AMERICANS
A pair of PAC football standouts have been named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) 2008 NCAA Division III All-America team, released on December 17. Washington & Jefferson senior quarterback Bobby Swallow and Thomas More junior linebacker Brad Steinmetz were each to the 25-man squad. Swallow, the 2008 PAC Player of the Year, also earned AFCA All-America laurels in 2007.

PAC AWARDS TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP HONORS
The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) has announced the Fall 2008 PAC Team Sportsmanship Award winners. This new award is sponsored by the members of the PAC Student-Athlete-Advisory Council (SAAC), in an effort to recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among the conference teams.

ELEVEN PAC GRIDDERS NAMED ALL-REGION
A total of 11 PAC football standouts have been named to the 2008 All-South Region teams by the D3Football.com website, released on December 10. The lone first team selection was Waynesburg senior DE D.J. DeWitt. Washington & Jefferson had a league-high six players selected, including five on the second team: senior QB Bobby Swallow, senior RB Curt Jones, senior G Matt Houy, senior C Dave Bucar, and junior WR Craig Besong. Other second team honorees were Thomas More junior LB Brad Steinmetz and Waynesburg senior returner Scott Cree. Three third team selections rounded out the conference honorees: Bethany junior TE Jorge Laboy, Grove City junior DT Tony Clark, and W&J sophomore DB Craig Sedunov.

W&J FALLS TO UMH-B IN NATIONAL QUARTERS
The Washington & Jefferson football team saw its 2008 season come to an end in the national quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Playoffs on Dec. 6, as the Presidents (11-2) dropped a 63-7 decision at Mary Hardin-Baylor.

W&J UPSETS MILLSAPS 35-20; PRESIDENTS ADVANCE TO NCAA NATIONAL QUARTERFINALS
Only eight teams remain in the 2008 NCAA Division III Football Playoffs following the conclusion of the second round of action on November 29, and the Washington & Jefferson Presidents are among those still standing. W&J upset South Region top seed Millsaps 35-20 in Jackson, Miss. behind a stellar rushing effort by senior tailback Curt Jones, who posted 208 yards on the ground and four touchdowns in the President victory. Washington & Jefferson (11-1) now advances to the national quarterfinals, as the Presidents will travel to Belton, Texas to face the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (11-1) for the South Region title at 1 p.m. EST (noon CST).

PAC TRIO NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
Three PAC football standouts have been namd to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Football second team, released on November 26 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). A pair of senior offensive linemen - Matt Houy of Washington & Jefferson (3.62 GPA, information technology leadership/pre-dental) and Dave Salera of Grove City (3.83, accounting) - were honored, as was Grove City senior linebacker Adam Eichler (3.52, molecular biology/pre-dental).

SWALLOW FINALIST FOR GAGLIARDI TROPHY
Washington & Jefferson College senior quarterback Bobby Swallow has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Gagliardi Trophy.  The Gagliardi Trophy has become one of the leading collegiate football awards and is widely recognized as the premier individual award in Division III football, honoring excellence in athletics, academics and community service. Fans can vote for Swallow online at http://www.d3football.com.

2008 ALL-PAC FOOTBALL TEAMS RELEASED
The 2008 All-PAC football teams were released on Monday, November 17. Washington & Jefferson senior quarterback Bobby Swallow was tabbed the 2008 PAC Player of the Year, while 2008 PAC Coach of the Year laurels went to Jim Hilvert of league champion Thomas More.

LEIPHEIMER NAMED THIEL AD; REISER PROMOTED TO LEAD TOMCAT FOOTBALL PROGRAM
John A. “Jack” Leipheimer will assume the position of director of athletics at Thiel College, it was announced on November 16.  Assistant head football coach Kurt Reiser, who followed Leipheimer to Thiel in 2001, will take over as the 25^th head coach in Thiel football history.  The changes are effective Monday, Nov. 17. Leipheimer, a 1974 Thiel graduate who served as Tomcat head coach for the past seven seasons, led Thiel to a school-best 11-1 record, the PAC Championship and the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs in 2005. He replaces Roseanne Gill-Jacobson, VP for Student Life and Dean of Students of Thiel, who served as interim AD for the past 2 1/2 years. Reiser, a 1993 graduate of Allegheny College where he was an all-conference tight end for the Gators, most recently was offensive coordinator/quarterback coach of the Tomcats.

PAC PLACES PAIR IN NCAA D-III PLAYOFFS
For the second time in the past four years, the PAC has placed a pair of teams in the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs. Both PAC champion Thomas More (8-2) and league runner-up Washington & Jefferson (9-1) were selected to the 32-team 2008 field, which opens play on Saturday, November 22. The PAC champion Saints earned the PAC's automatic bid (pool A) and will open at North region top seed North Central (10-0), while the fifth-seeded Presidents, who earned a pool C "at-large" bid, will host sixth-seed Christopher Newport (8-1) at Cameron Stadium in the opening round in the South region. Both games will start at noon local time.

"PAC FOOTBALL RIVALRY WEEK" CLOSES 2008 SEASON; TMC, W&J AWAIT WORD ON PLAYOFFS
Saturday, November 15 marked the final date of Division III regular season football action, and also the debut of "PAC Football Rivalry Week." All nine PAC schools were in action in rivalry contests, with several that date whose histories date back over 100 years. PAC champion Thomas More (8-2) recaptured the "Bridge Bowl" trophy following a 19-0 home shutout of Mount St. Joseph. Washington & Jefferson (9-1, 5-1 PAC) improved its chances at a Pool C berth in the NCAA Division III Playoffs following a 42-9 win at Waynesburg (5-5, 2-4 PAC) in the "PAC Backyard Brawl." Both Thomas More and W&J will await the release of the 32-team NCAA Division III playoff bracket on Sunday at 3 p.m. In other rivalry action, "The Game" was won by Geneva (5-5) over Westminster (5-5), 29-26. Grove City (6-4, 3-3 PAC) kept control of the "Mercer County Cup" after edging Thiel (2-8, 1-5 PAC) at home, 20-14. Finally, Bethany (3-7) captured the "Green Game" with a 44-14 decision at Saint Vincent (1-9). Final regular season conference statistics are now online, while the PAC weekly release with Player of the Week will be available on Monday.

DEAN RECEIVES NCCAA WEEKLY HONOR
Geneva junior running back Matt Dean was named the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) national player of the week for his efforts on Saturday, November 8. Dean accounted for both Geneva touchdowns on runs of one yard and 17 yards in a 17-13 upset win over 2008 PAC champion Thomas More. For the game, he rushed for 84 yards on 13 carries for an average of 6.5 yards per carry.

GENEVA STUNS PAC CHAMPION THOMAS MORE; W&J, WAYNESBURG, WESTMINSTER POST WINS
The next-to-last weekend of PAC regular season football action took place on November 8. The upset of the day took place in Beaver Falls, where Geneva (4-5) posted its third consecutive victory by knocking off 2008 PAC champion Thomas More (7-2) 17-13. In other action, Washington & Jefferson (8-1, 4-1 PAC) kept its NCAA Division III Pool C playoff hopes alive with a 54-7 home win over Bethany (2-7, 1-5 PAC). Westminster (5-4, 3-3 PAC) used a goal-line stand on the game's final play to hold off Grove City (5-4, 2-3 PAC) 24-21. Finally, Waynesburg (5-4, 2-3 PAC) prevailed in a 50-35 shootout at Thiel (2-7, 1-4 PAC)  Conference statistics through Week 10 are now online, while the PAC weekly release with Player of the Week will be available on Monday.

PAC PLACES 13 ATHLETES ON 2008 ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS
A total of 13 PAC football student-athletes have been named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District College Division Football Teams, released on November 6 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Five PAC gridders earned District II first team recognition and now advance to the Academic All-America ballot: senior WR Stephen Mercer (3.33 GPA, electrical engineering), senior OL Dave Salera (3.83, accounting) and senior LB Adam Eichler (3.52, molecular biology/pre-dental) of Grove City, senior OL Matt Houy (3.62, info. tech. leadership/pre-dental) of W&J, and senior LB Dan Terracciano (3.94, youth ministry) of Geneva. Second team honorees in District II were senior QB Bobby Swallow (3.36, business) and junior DL Brendan O'Mahony (3.41, undeclared) of W&J, senior WR Jordan Belosh (3.65, accounting) and junior RB Nick McKolosky (3.47, biology of Westminster, junior OL Todd Shulsky (4.0, finance) and junior DB Dylan August (3.77, secondary ed./English) of Waynesburg, and junior DL Tim Stefanizzi (3.57, forensic chemistry) of Bethany. Thomas More junior LB Brandon Kohrs (3.85, biology) was named to the District IV second team.

THOMAS MORE TOPS WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON 35-29, CAPTURES FIRST-EVER PAC TITLE
The Thomas More Saints captured their first-ever PAC football title and first PAC crown in any men's sport since joining the conference in 2005, as the Saints (7-1, 6-0 PAC) upset previously unbeaten and nationally-ranked Washington & Jefferson (7-1, 3-1 PAC) 35-29 before a standing room-only crowd in Crestview Hills, Ky., on November 1 Thomas More, led by second-year head coach Jim Hilvert, has earned the PAC's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division III playoffs beginning November 22.