KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee redshirt junior specialist Parker Henry was named to the Academic All-America Second Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday. Henry is a finance and political science major with a 4.0 grade-point average.
The Hendersonville, Tennessee, native is the fifth Volunteer to earn the distinction and the first since James Wilhoit was named a second-team All-American in 2006.
An SEC Academic Honor Roll selection in 2015 and 2016 and the recipient of the 2017 East Tennessee Outstanding Finance Award, Henry is a two-year starter for the Big Orange. In November, he was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District squad for the second straight year. Henry is only the second Tennessee player to receive CoSIDA All-District honors in back-to-back seasons and became the first Vol to accomplish the feat since Peyton Manning did so during the 1996 and 1997 campaigns. Overall, Henry is just the third Vol to earn the recognition two times and the first since Daniel Lincoln was named to the All-District team in 2007 and 2009.
During his Tennessee career, Henry appeared in 24 games as the Vols’ primary holder. The former Beech Senior High School quarterback plans to continue his education and pursue a master’s degree after graduating from the University of Tennessee with honors this May.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America program is administered by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Top student-athletes, who have already earned Academic All-District first-team honors, are eligible for inclusion on the Academic All-America team. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their current institutions, have a grade-point average above 3.30 (4.0 scale) and have outstanding athletic credentials. The Academic All-America ballot is voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members. Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in NCAA Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
This is the seventh year of the expanded Academic All-America program, with separate teams comprising NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, along with a College Division team of NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools. First-team Academic All-District members advance to the Academic All-America ballot, voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members.
Tennessee’s All-Time Academic All-Americans
- 1989 – Eric Still, Second Team
- 1996 – Peyton Manning, Second Team
- 1997 – Peyton Manning, First Team
- 2001 – Will Overstreet, Second Team
- 2006 – James Wilhoit, Second Team
- 2017 – Parker Henry, Second Team
-UT Athletics
