IWU’s Burtnette Named Academic All-District for FootballBLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Wesleyan University senior Brad Burtnette has been elected to the Verizon District Five College Division all-academic football team and will join representatives of seven other districts on the Verizon Academic All-America national ballot.
Burtnette, a defensive lineman from Naperville (Downers Grove South HS), is a computer science major with a grade-point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale). He has been a management trainee with Cintas Corporation and has served as a teaching assistant in the IWU computer science department and is a member of the IWU computer science association. He also works as a recess supervisor at a local grade school.
On the football field for the 6-3 Titans, Burtnette has made 19 solo tackles and assisted on 19 more. A two-year letterman, he has seven tackles for yardage losses including four quarterback sacks for ?20. He has one fumble recovery, a pass breakup and has caused a fumble.
He was also a starter and the seventh leading tackler on the 2001 team that ranked 29th nationally in total defense and 13th in scoring defense.
A transfer from Southern Illinois University after his freshman year, Burtnette is the son of Roger and Sue Burtnette and his grandfather, Don Heap, compiled a 13-10-2 record as IWU’s head coach from 1939-41.
The all-district teams were chosen by a vote of members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario. To be considered for the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America squads, players must be of at least sophomore standing, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 (of 4.0), and be a starter or first-line reserve.
Senior running back Chris Ross (Chatham, Glenwood HS) was elected to the second team of the academic all-district V football team, but only first team members advance to the national Verizon Academic All-America ballot.