The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur athlete from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport.[1] Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-America team for their sport. Some sports will have multiple All-America teams and will list the honorees as members of a first team, second team, or third team. As such, All-America teams are composed of outstanding US amateur players. Individuals falling short of qualifying for the honor may receive All-America honorable mention. The designation is typically used at the collegiate level, although, beginning in 1957, high school athletes in football began being honored with All-American status, which then carried over to other sports like basketball and cross-country running. The selection criteria vary by sport. Athletes at the high school and college level placed on All-America teams are referred to as All-Americans.Page Template:TOC right/styles.css has no content.
Term usage[]
Individuals earn All-America honors in their sport either by athletic achievement at a championship event or by being selected by members of the national media, coaches' association, or through a poll. The All-American terminology is primarily a demonym and is often used with regard to college and occasionally to high school players in the United States and its territories.
Selection to an All-America team for collegiate (or high-school) players, however, is honorary in nature. Likewise, there may also be a lower-tiered accolade referred to as honorable mention that is conferred upon non-team members of similar caliber in the same class. "All-America teams" do not typically play any games as a unit, unlike many of the all-star teams.Template:Category handler/numbered[citation needed]
The original use of the term "All-America" seems to have been in reference to a list of college football players who were regarded as the best at their respective positions. The first "All-America" team was the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Caspar Whitney and published in This Week's Sports in association with Walter Camp.[2]
In triathlons, USA Triathlon bestows the All America status on the top 10% within their age group.
The term has also been used in athletics in new ways to recognize the academic achievements of student-athletes as "Academic All-America" teams are named.[3] The term "Academic All-America" is a registered trademark of the College Sports Information Directors of America, which began the program in 1952 to recognize college athletes at all levels of competition and in all collegiate sports.
Collegiate sports[]
Each year different sets of All-American teams are recognized toward consensus and unanimous selection recognition. A "unanimous selection" is a player who is listed as a first team All-American by all recognized lists. A "consensus All-American" is a player who is listed as a first team All-American by at least half of the recognized lists. All-America teams are selected annually in various collegiate sports.
Football[]
- Main article: College Football All-America Team
The National Collegiate Athletic Association currently recognizes College Football All-America Teams selected by the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) to determine consensus All-Americans.[4]
High school sports[]
At the high school level, noted All-America teams are selected by Parade magazine in football, and from 1957 to 2015 in basketball.[5] In baseball, the ABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Baseball Team has been selected annually since 1969.[6]
Also in basketball, the McDonald's restaurant chain selects players annually for its McDonald's All-American Game, McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Games</ref> and there is also a Ballislife All-American Game. In football, there is the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and the Under Armour All-America Game. Since 2000, the United States Army has sponsored its own annual All-American high school football competition, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which includes an All-American football team, split East and West, and an All-American marching band.
In 2005, Offense-Defense Sports began publishing a Top 100 ranking for nation's the top high school football athletes.[7] The Offense-Defense All-American Bowl is held every January, featuring the 88 top-ranked high school seniors.[8]
Athletes who place in the top 15 of each gender division at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, a series of annual cross country running races which are held in various regions of the US, are awarded All-American honors.[9]
The National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association publishes an Academic All America Awards list for graduating seniors that have maintained a minimum GPA of 3.750, and have lettered in their high school programs in swimming, diving, or water polo.[10]
The National High School Coaches Association also honors the nation's top student athletes on a yearly basis, as "High School Academic All-Americans".[11]
In 2020, High School Football America began publishing an annual Academic All-America Team honoring thousands of student-athletes from around the nation.[12],
References[]
- ↑ Cambridge, Dictionary (2022). Meaning of all-American in English.
- ↑ The All-America Team for 1889 selected by Casper Whitney is identified in the NCAA guide to football award winners Archived July 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ CoSIDA - Academic All-America (September 13, 2007).
- ↑ Deitch, Scott E. (Ed), 2002 NCAA Football's Finest Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (pdf format), National Collegiate Athletic Association, February 2002
- ↑ O'Shea, Michael, "Meet PARADE's All-America High School Football Team" Archived August 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Parade, 2 March 2009
- ↑ ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans Index. American Baseball Coaches Association.
- ↑ "Offense-Defense All-American Bowl", Offense Defense Sports Archived November 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Local players headed to 2010 Offense-Defense game" Archived October 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Miami Herald, October 12, 2009
- ↑ Gerweck, Jim, "It's the Little Things: Foot Locker Tidbits" Archived December 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Running Times Magazine
- ↑ Academic All America Award. National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.
- ↑ Academic All Americans. National High School Coaches Association.
- ↑ 2021 Academic All-America Team powered by scoutSMART (April 19, 2022).