Dec. 20, 2002

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Two members of the University of Massachusetts football team have been selected to the 2002 Division I-AA Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team, it was announced this afternoon. Senior wide receiver Neal Brown (Danville, Ky.) and senior placekicker Doug White (Claremont, Calif.) were both named to the squad.

Brown, a Management major who owns an overall grade point average of 3.73, was also named Academic All Atlantic 10 Conference this year. One of UMass' top wide receivers, he played in 12 games on the season, starting nine times. Brown ranked third on the team with 21 receptions for 307 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2002. Two of his top games this season came at Northeastern (five receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown) and in the season finale at Rhode Island (four catches for 78 yards). During his two seasons at UMass, Brown totaled 58 catches for 721 yards and four touchdowns, while playing in 23 games with 15 starts.

White, a Management major who carries a cumulative grade point average of 3.73, is also a three-time Academic All-Atlantic 10 selection. Earlier this season, White was named third team All-Atlantic 10 Conference, in addition to being selected to the American Football Coaches Association Good Works team and the Verizon / CoSIDA Academic All-District I team. He ranked second on the team in scoring this season with 63 points, hitting eight of 10 field goal attempts and 39 of 44 extra points. White tied the school single season record for extra points made with 39, while placing second on the UMass single-season lists for field goal percentage (.800) and field goals made (eight). Over the course of his UMass career, White made 27 of 35 field goal attempts and 97 of 108 extra points, for a total of 178 points scored. He is the all-time UMass record holder in career field goal percentage (.771), while ranking second in extra points made (97), third in field goals made (27) and second in points scored by kickers (178).

UMass finished the 2002 season with an overall record of 8-4, and placed third in the Atlantic 10 with a 6-3 record.