RICHMOND, Ky. – Senior offensive tackle Patrick Ford was recently named to the Capital One Academic All-District football first team as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). His name will now be placed on the Academic All-America ballot.

Ford was in his third year as a starter on the EKU offensive line before suffering a season-ending injury at UT Martin on Sept. 29. The native of Richmond, Ky., has lined up at both guard and tackle in his time with the Colonels, but spent the majority of the 2011 and 2012 seasons at left tackle. A preseason third team All-America selection by The Sports Network, Ford earned his bachelor’s degree this past May in construction management with a 3.9 GPA. He is now pursuing a master’s degree in applied engineering and technical management.

To be nominated for Academic All-America honors, 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) for his/her career. No athlete is eligible until he/she has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her current institution (thus, true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and ineligible transfers are not eligible). In the cases of transfers, graduate students and junior college graduates, the athlete must have completed one full calendar year at the nominating institution to be eligible.

CoSIDA’s Capital One Academic All-America Division I football team will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 6.

The No. 17 Colonels (8-3, 6-2 OVC) concluded their regular season last Saturday with a convincing 55-24 win over Murray State. EKU has to wait until this Sunday to learn if it will make a 21st appearance in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. ESPNU will air the playoff selection show on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m.