Maine Maritime runningback Jim Bower and Mount Union wide receiver Cecil Shorts headline the 2009 AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America Team announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.

Bower led Division III in rushing this season, averaging 160.5 yards per game to help lead the Mariners to their first NCAA Division III playoff appearance. Shorts enters this weekend’s Stagg Bowl averaging 110 yards per game receiving.

*-2008 AFCA All-American

Team Background: The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen.

From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA.

In 1996 the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III respectively. The AFCA began selecting an NAIA-only team in 2006. From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen.

In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997 a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was been replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006.

The Award: Members of the AFCA Coaches’ All-America Team receive a plaque commemorating their selection to the team.

Top Teams: The leaders are Mount Union (18 players) and Augustana (Ill.) (17 players), which have been represented 19 times  since 1972. The Purple Raiders and Vikings are followed by Wittenberg (18/17), Washington & Jefferson (16/14), Wisconsin-La Crosse (15/15), Central (Iowa) (14/13), Mississippi College (14/13), Ithaca (13/13), Widener (13/10), Emory & Henry (13/13), Linfield (13/12), Montclair State (13/11), Springfield (Mass.) (12/11), Frostburg State (11/10), St. John’s (Minn.) (11/11), Wheaton (11/10), Wisconsin-Whitewater (11/9), Westminster (Pa.) (10/10) and Millsaps (10/7).

Consecutive Years: Mount Union has had a player chosen every year since 2000 to surpass Emory & Henry’s previous record of eight straight seasons from 1985-1992. Mount Union had one player chosen for six consecutive seasons from 1993-1998. Augustana (Ill.) had a player selected for six consecutive seasons from 2000-2005.

Repeat After Me: No player has earned AFCA Division III All-America honors four times, however Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville) runningback Johnny Bailey did earn Coaches’ All-America honors four straight years (1986-87-88-89) in AFCA College Division I (now AFCA Division II).
Five players have earned AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America Team honors three times. They are: DB Tom Deery, Widener, 1979-80-81, RB Scott Reppert, Lawrence 1980-81-82; RB Joe Dudek, Plymouth State 1983-84-85; DL Sean Brewer, Millsaps 1990-91-92 and P Jeff Shea, California Lutheran 1995-96-97.

Class Distinction: This year’s AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America Team is made up of 20 seniors and 5 juniors.

First Time Schools: Jordan Rideaux is the first player from Louisiana College to earn AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America honors.

Back-to-Back: Blaine Westemeyer of Augustana (Ill.) and Joel Ostrue of St. Thomas (Minn.) earned AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America honors for the second consecutive season in 2008.

One Player, Two Schools: Punter Mark Bounds is the only player to earn Coaches’ All-America honors at two different schools. He was named to the AFCA College Division I team in 1990 while playing for West Texas A&M. He transferred to Texas Tech after West Texas dropped football and earned I-A All-America honors as a Red Raider in 1991.