Nov. 20, 2001
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State's Brian Simnjanovski, a junior from Escondido, has been named to the 2001 Verizon Academic All-District VIII football team. As a result, Simnjanovski will appear on the academic All-America ballot. The All-America team will be announced in December.
The academic team is voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The District VIII team consists of players from Division I and IAA football programs in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
Simnjanovski leads the Mountain West Conference and is currently 18th nationally with an average of just over 43 yards per punt. He dropped 22 of his 63 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He was a member of the Ray Guy Award watch list. The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to the nation's top punter.
In the classroom, his grade-point average is in excess of 3.5. He is pursuing a degree in liberal studies. Simnjanovski was a second-team all-Mountain West Conference punter last season, and earned all-MWC academic honors a year ago.