SEWARD, Neb. – Senior Garrett Suchanek and junior Jared Knoepfel added their names to the growing list of Concordia athletes to earn 2015-16 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition. Suchanek is now a two-time Scholar-Athlete while Knoepfel received the honor for the first time.
In order to be nominated by an institution’s head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status. A total of 147 men’s golf student-athletes across the nation were named scholar-athletes by the NAIA.
A native of Grand Island, Neb., Suchanek earned his degree this May in journalism and public relations. Knoepfel, who hails from Fremont, Neb., is a pre-law student. They join Amy Ahlers as golfers who were named 2015-16 Scholar-Athletes.
Concordia University ranks as the NAIA’s all-time leader in number of Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes with 1,302 and counting. So far, the 2015-16 season has produced 88 Bulldog scholar-athletes. The 2014-15 season culminated with GPAC-leading totals of 94 Bulldog scholar-athletes and 17 NAIA Scholar-Teams. During the 2013-14 academic year, Concordia garnered 101 Scholar-Athlete honorees (most in the NAIA) and 17 NAIA Scholar-Teams (tied for fourth nationally).
Concordia University, Nebraska, founded in 1894, is a fully accredited, coeducational university located in Seward, Neb., that currently serves over 2,200 students. Concordia offers more than 50 professional and liberal arts programs in an excellent academic and Christ-centered community that equips men and women for lives of learning, service and leadership in the church and world.