HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana University senior punter Austin Dunlap was named the 2023 Southland Conference Football Student-Athlete of the Year in an announcement from the SLC office Tuesday.
 
Dunlap, who carries a 3.5 cumulative grade point average as he works his way towards a graduate degree in business administration, was one of three SLU student-athletes to earn a spot on the SLC All-Academic Team. He was joined by quarterback Zachary Clement (3.60 GPA, Biological Sciences) and defensive back Justin Dumas (3.53, Kinesiology). All three were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District list in the fall.
 
Dunlap is the second Lion in program history to be named Southland Student-Athlete of History. SLU Athletics Hall of Famer Isiah Corbett received the honor in 2014.
 
Dunlap was named first team All-Southland Conference for the second straight year and also earned All-Louisiana honors this fall. The Slidell, Louisiana native led the SLC and ranked seventh in FCS with a 43.9 punting average. The three-time Southland Special Teams Player of the Week and FCS Punter of the Year finalist finished the season ranked fifth among active players in career punting average.
 
Clement, in his first season in Hammond after transferring from Northwestern State, was named to the SLC All-Academic squad for the second straight season. The Broussard, Louisiana product led the Lions with nine passing touchdowns and 508 yards rushing touchdown last fall.
 
In addition to his role as a reserve defensive back, Dumas was also the holder on extra points and field goals for Southeastern. The LaPlace, Louisiana native rushed for a touchdown on a fake field goal in the regular season finale versus Nicholls.
 
Southeastern's spring practice will run Feb. 19 through March 23. The Lions open the 2024 season at Tulane Aug. 31.
 
2023 Southland Conference Football All-Academic Team
 
Student-Athlete of the Year: Austin Dunlap, Southeastern
 
QB – Zachary Clement, Southeastern
RB – Collin Guggenheim, Nicholls
RB – D'Angelo Durham, McNeese
WR – Karl Reynolds, HCU
WR – Brandon Porter, UIW
WR – Sevonne Rhea, Lamar
OL – Jacob Dicharry, Lamar
OL – Christian Hood, HCU
OL – Robbie Pizzolato, Nicholls
OL – Nolan Hay, HCU
OL – Hayes Creel, McNeese
LS – Trey Vondenstein, McNeese
K – Emmanual Adagbon, A&M-Commerce
P – Austin Dunlap, Southeastern
DL – Zach Bernard, Nicholls
DL – Zae Smith, HCU
DL – Earnest Grayson, McNeese
DL – Donovan Green, Northwestern State
LB – Xavier McIntyre, HCU
LB – Ricky Rich, UIW
LB – Brayden Faulkner, Lamar
LB – Brayden Adams, McNeese
DB – Justin Dumas, Southeastern
DB – Tre Richardson, UIW
DB – Sean-Krystoff King, A&M-Commerce
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net. Southeastern will continue offering mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on X, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and follow lionupfootball on Instagram.
 
TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the football program are encouraged to join the Touchdown Club. Lion football alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.