TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State University redshirt senior quarterback Michael Bercovici has been named the Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday.
The Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards were established during the 2007-08 academic year to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.
Bercovici is the 30th Sun Devil to earn the Pac-12’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and the second consecutive football student-athlete after Taylor Kelly was recognized in 2014. ASU is the first school with back-to-back football Scholar-Athletes and leads all schools in the Pac-12 with three football Scholar-Athletes as Mike Nixon also received the honor in 2009.
ASU's Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athletes of the YearBercovici (B.S., Business Management, May 2014)
Taylor Kelly (BAE, Educational Studies, May 2014)
Mike Nixon (B.A., Political Science, December 2009)
ASU ranks second behind Stanford among all Pac-12 schools in number of Scholar-Athlete recipients and at least one student-athlete from 16 of ASU’s varsity sports has been honored.
Pac-12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year (2007-08 through Fall 2015)
Stanford, 53
Arizona State, 30
Arizona, 19
California, 14
Oregon, 14
UCLA, 13
Bercovici graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management in May 2014 and is set to graduate this December from a Master’s of Sports Law and Business program that combines classes from the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law and the W.P. Carey School of Business. He is a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree, including a second-team selection in 2015, and has been a Scholar Baller, an honor given to a student-athlete who achieves a GPA of 3.0 or above, in 11 different semesters.
He was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is college football's premier scholar-athlete award and recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation. He was also named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and the Lee Roy Selmon Community Spirit Award, and was a nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy, ‘College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service.’ The 30-person Senior CLASS Award recognizes student-athletes who excel both on and off the field, and have notable achievement in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Bercovici’s 2015 AccoladesPac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team
Williams V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist
Senior CLASS Award finalist
Lee Roy Selmon Community Spirit Award finalist
Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Wuerffel Trophy nominee
Maxwell Award Watch List
Senior Bowl Watch List
Bercovici has completed 289 passes for 3,437 yards and 26 touchdowns, and rushed for 337 yards and six touchdowns this season. He ranks third in the Pac-12 in both total offense and passing yards per game, and ranks 10th in the nation in completions, 16th in passing yards, and 18th in passing touchdowns.
He is just the fifth Sun Devil quarterback to cross the 3,00-yard passing mark in a single season and he has been responsible for 47 percent of ASU’s points this season. He has two games with five touchdown passes this season, and is tied for second at ASU with three career games of five-plus passing touchdowns. In addition, he has three of ASU’s five longest touchdown runs this season, including a career-long 34-yarder against Texas A&M. He was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after he accounted for three touchdowns and 310 total yards in the Devils’ 38-23 road win over then-No. 7 UCLA on Oct. 3.
Bercovici Single-Season School RecordsThird in completions with 289
Third in points responsible for 192
Third in total offensive attempts with 584
Fourth in touchdown passes with 26
Fourth in passing yards with 3,436
A team captain and member of the team’s leadership council for four consecutive season, as well as the newly created Influence Team, Bercovici is heavily involved in a number of community services initiatives and projects. On campus, he is a five-year member of ASU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has been an advocate for the Championship Life Program created by ASU. He helped put together a presentation with Jean Boyd and Drew Rosenhaus that is designed to help young student-athletes make the most of their time in school and ensure they set themselves up for a positive future. He has been instrumental in influencing his teammates and other student-athletes to become more involved in the community and routinely leads a contingent of student-athletes in community service and outreach events.
Bercovici has served as an ambassador the football program and Arizona State University on numerous occasions. He was a pace setter for kids’ portion of Pat’s Run, an annual race on ASU’s campus that honors the legacy and life of former Sun Devil linebacker Pat Tillman, spoke at the annual Tempe Chamber of Commerce Football Kickoff Luncheon, and attended the annual Pac-12 Football Media Day in Los Angeles. He is heavily involved in the Scholar Baller leadership and outreach program, which helps young people develop championship character, a strong sense of self-esteem and leadership attributes.
He has dedicated more than 50 hours at various kid’s camps and youth clinics throughout his career, including traveling back to his elementary school in Calabasas, Calif., to speak about the importance of attending college and earning a degree, and serving as a counselor at the Elite 11 quarterback camp in Oregon. He has committed another 50-plus hours in a number of visits during his five years at ASU, including multiple trips to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Carson Children’s Hospital in Mesa, as well as the Sunshine Acres Children’s Home, and multiple elementary and middle schools across the state, from Mesa to Gilbert to Phoenix.
The Vision Part I | The Vision Part II | The Vision Part III | The Vision Part IV | The Vision Part V
In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50% of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.
A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 22 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling.
The Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards were established during the 2007-08 academic year to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.
Bercovici is the 30th Sun Devil to earn the Pac-12’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and the second consecutive football student-athlete after Taylor Kelly was recognized in 2014. ASU is the first school with back-to-back football Scholar-Athletes and leads all schools in the Pac-12 with three football Scholar-Athletes as Mike Nixon also received the honor in 2009.
ASU's Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athletes of the YearBercovici (B.S., Business Management, May 2014)
Taylor Kelly (BAE, Educational Studies, May 2014)
Mike Nixon (B.A., Political Science, December 2009)
ASU ranks second behind Stanford among all Pac-12 schools in number of Scholar-Athlete recipients and at least one student-athlete from 16 of ASU’s varsity sports has been honored.
Pac-12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year (2007-08 through Fall 2015)
Stanford, 53
Arizona State, 30
Arizona, 19
California, 14
Oregon, 14
UCLA, 13
Bercovici graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management in May 2014 and is set to graduate this December from a Master’s of Sports Law and Business program that combines classes from the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law and the W.P. Carey School of Business. He is a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honoree, including a second-team selection in 2015, and has been a Scholar Baller, an honor given to a student-athlete who achieves a GPA of 3.0 or above, in 11 different semesters.
He was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is college football's premier scholar-athlete award and recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation. He was also named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and the Lee Roy Selmon Community Spirit Award, and was a nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy, ‘College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service.’ The 30-person Senior CLASS Award recognizes student-athletes who excel both on and off the field, and have notable achievement in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Bercovici’s 2015 AccoladesPac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team
Williams V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist
Senior CLASS Award finalist
Lee Roy Selmon Community Spirit Award finalist
Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week
Wuerffel Trophy nominee
Maxwell Award Watch List
Senior Bowl Watch List
Bercovici has completed 289 passes for 3,437 yards and 26 touchdowns, and rushed for 337 yards and six touchdowns this season. He ranks third in the Pac-12 in both total offense and passing yards per game, and ranks 10th in the nation in completions, 16th in passing yards, and 18th in passing touchdowns.
He is just the fifth Sun Devil quarterback to cross the 3,00-yard passing mark in a single season and he has been responsible for 47 percent of ASU’s points this season. He has two games with five touchdown passes this season, and is tied for second at ASU with three career games of five-plus passing touchdowns. In addition, he has three of ASU’s five longest touchdown runs this season, including a career-long 34-yarder against Texas A&M. He was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after he accounted for three touchdowns and 310 total yards in the Devils’ 38-23 road win over then-No. 7 UCLA on Oct. 3.
Bercovici Single-Season School RecordsThird in completions with 289
Third in points responsible for 192
Third in total offensive attempts with 584
Fourth in touchdown passes with 26
Fourth in passing yards with 3,436
A team captain and member of the team’s leadership council for four consecutive season, as well as the newly created Influence Team, Bercovici is heavily involved in a number of community services initiatives and projects. On campus, he is a five-year member of ASU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has been an advocate for the Championship Life Program created by ASU. He helped put together a presentation with Jean Boyd and Drew Rosenhaus that is designed to help young student-athletes make the most of their time in school and ensure they set themselves up for a positive future. He has been instrumental in influencing his teammates and other student-athletes to become more involved in the community and routinely leads a contingent of student-athletes in community service and outreach events.
Bercovici has served as an ambassador the football program and Arizona State University on numerous occasions. He was a pace setter for kids’ portion of Pat’s Run, an annual race on ASU’s campus that honors the legacy and life of former Sun Devil linebacker Pat Tillman, spoke at the annual Tempe Chamber of Commerce Football Kickoff Luncheon, and attended the annual Pac-12 Football Media Day in Los Angeles. He is heavily involved in the Scholar Baller leadership and outreach program, which helps young people develop championship character, a strong sense of self-esteem and leadership attributes.
He has dedicated more than 50 hours at various kid’s camps and youth clinics throughout his career, including traveling back to his elementary school in Calabasas, Calif., to speak about the importance of attending college and earning a degree, and serving as a counselor at the Elite 11 quarterback camp in Oregon. He has committed another 50-plus hours in a number of visits during his five years at ASU, including multiple trips to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Carson Children’s Hospital in Mesa, as well as the Sunshine Acres Children’s Home, and multiple elementary and middle schools across the state, from Mesa to Gilbert to Phoenix.
The Vision Part I | The Vision Part II | The Vision Part III | The Vision Part IV | The Vision Part V
In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50% of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.
A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 22 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling.
