NEW HAVEN, Conn.- The award collection for UW-Oshkosh football's John Schirger grew by one on Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 8) as the offensive lineman collected his third All-America honor of the year, this time from the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
 
The Walter Camp All-America program is the oldest of its kind in the nation, first being awarded by Camp following the 1889 season. 11 players were selected in the first year. The team expanded to offensive and defensive teams in 1965, and a second team was honored beginning with the 1998 team. This year marks the first time the foundation expanded to NCAA Division II, Division III and the NAIA.
 
Schirger (Sr. • Grafton) started in all 10 of the Titans games this season, anchoring an offense that rushed for at least 126 yards four times while allowing just 43 tackles-for-loss and 19 sacks against NCAA Division III opponents and 28 and nine respectively against WIAC programs.
 
The offensive tackle and the Titan offense put up a season high 167 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground in a 28-21 overtime win over then-ranked No. 21/16 Linfield University (Ore.) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium on Sept. 14. The Titans allowed just one tackle for loss twice this season; at UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 26 and against UW-Stout at home on Nov. 9. They also recorded a clean sack sheet four times, including the Pointer and Blue Devil matchups as well as home games against Division II Michigan Tech on Sept. 21 and UW-Platteville on Oct. 19.
 
Schirger's previous All-America nods came from the American Football Coaches Association and the Associated Press. He was also a D3football.com All-Region 6 Second Team member and earned a spot on the All-WIAC First Team. On Tuesday (Jan. 8), he was named to the College Sports Communicators Football Academic All-District Team for the third time in his career at UW-Oshkosh.
 
The WIAC was also represented by UW-Whitewater's Matt Burba, a defensive lineman.
 
Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
 
The Walter Camp Football Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients.