Stoll selected for prestigious ESPN academic award

MISSOULA, Mont. —  Two University of Montana football players, Brandon Fisher and Erik Stoll, have been selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII squad as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America. Their names are now forwarded to the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration.

Stoll, a former Sandpoint standout who is now the starting strong safety for the No. 1 ranked Grizzlies (9-0) as a junior, carries a 3.95 GPA in the academically demanding major of Biology. He has started all nine games this season, and is second on the team with 50 tackles, including seven in a 12-10 win over Idaho State on Saturday, the team Stoll originally signed with out of high school before transferring to Missoula. He also registered a tackle for loss and broke up a pass in the win over the Bengals, which gave the Griz yet another Big Sky championship.

To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games at the position listed on the nomination form.

Stoll was also Montana’s 2008 President’s Award recipient, meaning he carried the highest GPA of all male athletes at the university. His younger brother Kurt Stoll, a sophomore, is also playing for the Griz, although he hasn’t played in a game this year. The coaches are currently working with Kurt as a slot receiver in practice, hoping he can potentially join his older brother on the other side of the ball next season.