13 Spartans named Academic All-Big Ten

Contrary to what some people think, there are student-athletes who attend a school and look to get an education out of their athletic scholarship. 

The Big Ten released its Academic All-Conference members for the fall today. To be named to the list, a student-athlete must be a letterwinner in at least their second year at a school with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Thirteen Spartan football players were named to the list, with punter Mike Sadler being one of 14 Big Ten student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Earlier in the week, four Spartans were honored for their grades at the team banquet.

Here is the list of Spartans, with class level, major and hometown:

Max Bullough, Michigan State So. Finance, Traverse City, Mich.

Larry Caper, Michigan State Jr. Advertising, Battle Creek, Mich.

Kirk Cousins, Michigan State Sr. Kinesiology, Holland, Mich.

John Deyo, Michigan State Sr. Agribusiness Management, Battle Creek, Mich.

Joel Foreman, Michigan State Sr. Criminal Justice, Highland, Mich.

Jeremy Gainer, Michigan State Jr. Hospitality Business, Detroit, Mich.

Travis Jackson, Michigan State So. No‐preference, New Albany, Ohio

Nate Klatt, Michigan State Jr. Accounting, Clinton, Ohio

Andrew Maxwell, Michigan State Jr. Supply Chain Management, Midland, Mich.

Keith Nichol, Michigan State Sr. Supply Chain Management, Lowell, Mich.

Ethan Ruhland, Michigan State Sr. Human Biology, Lake Orion, Mich.

*Mike Sadler, Michigan State Jr. Applied Engineering Sciences, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Brad Sonntag, Michigan State Sr. Hospitality Business, Saginaw, Mich.

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As for where MSU football ranked among Big Ten schools, here is the total for each school, by my count:

Northwestern 31

Nebraska 27

Indiana 24

Purdue 20

Penn State 19

Minnesota 18

Wisconsin 17

Iowa 14

MSU 13

Illinois 11

Michigan 11

Ohio State 10