SAINT LOUIS -- The Pioneer Football League runner-up University of Dayton football team had seven First Team Academic All-Pioneer Football League selections and six Second Team selections in an announcement by the league office today. The Flyers had the most first team selections and the most overall in the league.

Senior linebacker Christopher Beaschler was also named the Pioneer Football League Scholar Athlete of the Year, becoming the first two-time winner of the award.

Beaschler, a team captain from Ada, Ohio, is a mechanical engineering major who has amassed a 3.73 grade-point average during his Dayton career. In addition to being named the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year, he earned his third consecutive First-Team Academic All-PFL selection, becoming only the 37th student-athlete to accomplish that feat in the award's 24 seasons.

Nationally, Beaschler was named to the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams™ in October, less than a year after being named to that organization's 2015 Academic All-America Teams©. Beaschler is a four-time Academic All-PFL selection and a four-time member of the league's academic honor roll.

In addition to those honors, Beaschler is one of 16 finalists for the 2016 National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy. The trophy, sometimes referred to as "the Academic Heisman," recognizes an individual as the top football scholar-athlete in the nation.

On the field, Beaschler has been Dayton's leading tackler for each of the last three seasons, including his team best 88 tackles this season. He ranks fifth among FCS active career leaders in total tackles (384). This season, Beaschler also had 56 solo tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Dayton had four of the 10 student-athletes who earned first-team honors for a second consecutive year: linebacker Jack Crain, quarterback Alex Jeske, offensive tackle Jimmy Vogel and running back Tucker Yinger. 

Senior placekicker William Will was named to the first team for the first time.

In addition, three of the six players who were both First Team All-PFL and First Team Academic All-PFL were Dayton Flyers – Beaschler, Vogel and Will.  The other three each came from different teams.

The six Flyers named Second Team Academic All-PFL were defensive end Mike Gray, Flyer back Chris Hagan, offensive guard Wes Hegemann, tight end Ian Palin, running back Jared Ruffing and defensive end Nick Surges.  For Gray and Palin, it was their second season being named to the second team. 

The Academic All-PFL teams are a complement to the Capital One Academic All-America® program presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Thirteen PFL student-athletes were named to their respective Capital One Academic All-District Teams® this fall. The 2016 Capital One Academic All-America Teams® will be announced Thursday.

Pioneer Football League athletic directors established the Academic All-PFL squads in 1993 as a way to recognize the league's outstanding student-athletes. To be eligible for Academic All-PFL consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00 and reached their second season both athletically and academically at his current institution.

UD went 9-2 in 2016, with a 7-1 record in the Pioneer Football League.  The Flyers finished in second place in the PFL and closed the year with seven consecutive wins.  UD also had 13 All-PFL selections.