FRISCO, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana University placed three members on the 2010 Southland Conference All-Academic Football Team in a release by the league office on Tuesday.

Named to the 24-man team were senior defensive back Tommy Connors (Marrero, La.), senior defensive end Nathan Clophus (Sulphur, La.) and sophomore running back Sam Fairley (Moss Point, Miss.).

Connors, a first-team All-Southland Conference selection on the field, made his third appearance on the All-Academic list after being named in 2007 and 2008. The graduate student, who earned a 3.08 grade point average in marketing, registered 98 tackles on the season with a team-high 10 tackles for loss while intercepting three passes, forcing four fumbles and recovering three.

Named to the All-Academic team for the first time were Clophus, the team leader in sacks, and Fairley, the Lions' rushing leader.

Clophus, a second-team All-Southland Conference selection, finished fourth on the team with 60 tackles with seven tackles for loss and an interception. Clophus, who carried a 3.07 grade point average in general studies, was a second-team All-Louisiana selection for the Lions.

Fairley, who finished fifth in the Southland Conference in rushing, gained 579 yards on the season with one touchdown. Fairley, who posted a 3.13 grade point average in general studies, gained a career-high 108 yards against UT-Martin and added 105 yards in the season-finale at Nicholls State.

Nicholls State senior punter Patrick Dolan was named the Southland Conference Football Student-Athlete of the Year. A three-time all-academic selection, Dolan is the first Nicholls player to be named the Southland football student-athlete of the year.

A marketing major with a 3.77 grade-point average, Dolan received dual honors as a member of the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI team and most recently was named to the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Director's Association Academic All-Star Team.

A native of Mobile, Ala., Dolan received his third consecutive first-team all-conference honor after playing in all 11 games for the Colonels in 2010. He totaled 2,721 yards on 63 punts for a 43.2 average, which ranked sixth in the FCS. Dolan had 17 punts of 50 yards or more, two punts of 60-plus yards and had a career best 74-yarder against conference rival Southeastern. Dolan leaves Nicholls as the career record holder with a 43.1 yard average and was just two-tenths of a yard shy of the Southland career record.

Central Arkansas recorded its most all-academic selections with a league-best seven members including four first-team honorees, while Northwestern State received six all-academic members for the third consecutive season. Sam Houston State (and Southeastern) had three selections, Nicholls had two and McNeese State, Stephen F. Austin and Texas State had one apiece.

There were 11 automatic selections on the Southland all-academic team. To be an automatic selection, a student-athlete must be a first-team All-Southland Conference selection, a CoSIDA Academic All-District VI selection or named to the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team.

The Southland had eight CoSIDA selections, led by UCA with four. Sophomore running back Anthony Blackmon, senior offensive lineman Austin Emerson, junior offensive lineman Brad Jakel and sophomore defensive back Marcus Dumas each received honors. Northwestern State had three CoSIDA members led by junior tight end Justin Aldredge, junior linebacker Yaser Elqutub and senior defensive back Xavier Lee. McNeese State junior punter Ben Bourgeois was the only 4.00 GPA among all CoSIDA selections.

Northwestern State was one of the 11 FCS universities with the maximum allowable two honorees who made the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team. Demons Aldredge and Elqutub were joined on the team by Bourgeois and SFA junior punter Drew Nelson.

Connors joined Dolan and Emerson as the only first-team all-conference selections to receive additional honors as all-academic members. Dolan and Connors made the all-academic team for a third time, while Emerson and Aldredge made their second all-academic appearance.

The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 12 member universities, voted for the student-athlete of the year. The Southland student-athlete of the year award is presented to the one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale, and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.

The All-Academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.

2010 Southland Conference Football All-Academic Teams
Pos. – Name, University
WR - Dominique Croom, Central Arkansas
WR - Brandon Closner, Sam Houston State
RB - Anthony Blackmon, Central Arkansas
RB - Sam Fairley, Southeastern Louisiana
TE - Justin Aldredge, Northwestern State
OL - Austin Emerson, Central Arkansas
OL - Brad Jakel, Central Arkansas
OL - Travis Watson, Sam Houston State
OL - Bart Roussel, Nicholls
OL - Zach Case, Northwestern State
K - John Shaughnessy, Northwestern State

Defense
Pos. – Name, University
DL - Nathan Clophus, Southeastern Louisiana
DL - Jonathan Ward, Texas State
DL - Wade Williams, Northwestern State
LB - Yaser Elqutub, Northwestern State
LB - Justin Heard, Central Arkansas
DB - Marcus Dumas, Central Arkansas
DB - Xavier Lee, Northwestern State
DB - Tommy Connors, Southeastern Louisiana
DB - Seth Allison, Central Arkansas
DB - Randy Stewart, Sam Houston State
P - Ben Bourgeois, McNeese State
P - Patrick Dolan^, Nicholls
P - Drew Nelson, Stephen F. Austin

^ - 2010 Southland Football Student-Athlete of the Year