KLOBUCHER EARNS NFF MICHIGAN CHAPTER'S SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD

Ferris State Senior Named Division II's Morley Fraser Award Honoree

Mike Klobucher (Grand Haven/North Muskegon), a senior on the 2006 Ferris State University football team, has been selected as the Division II recipient of the Morley Fraser Award which is given to a collegiate football player who demonstrates academic achievement, football ability and leadership.

The award is presented annually by the Awards Committee of the Michigan Chapter of the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame. Klobucher will be formally recognized for his success both on and off the field Wednesday, Dec. 13, during the chapter's annual awards banquet at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. The event will start at 5:30 p.m. (EST). The Michigan Chapter is one of the oldest and most established chapters of the NFF.

Klobucher has already received an impressive list of honors and awards this postseason, including the 2006 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (GLIAC) Jack H. McAvoy Award for outstanding character and leadership along with being named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Football First Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The 2006 All-GLIAC First-Team selection was also chosen as a 2006 NFF National Scholar-Athlete and was a finalist for the prestigious Draddy Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's top college football scholar-athlete. The 6-2, 248-pound middle linebacker also garnered GLIAC All-Academic Team kudos the last three years (2004-06) and is twice (2005-06) the team's recipient of the FSU President's Academic Award for having the squad's highest grade point average. Klobucher is also active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes while performing volunteer work for both the Guiding Light Mission and the Rescue Mission in the Muskegon (Mich.) community.

On the field, the two-time (2005-06) team Most Valuable Player paced the Bulldogs in tackles for the third straight season with 92 total tackles (47 solos) in 10 games this season. A two-time (2005-06) FSU defensive co-captain, Klobucher concluded his four-year career seventh among the Bulldogs' all-time tackles leaders with 389 career stops (206 solos) in 42 contests.

Klobucher, who currently ranks 25th among the NCAA Division II statistical leaders in total tackles (9.2 avg.) and 31st in solo tackles (4.7 avg.), helped lead Ferris State to its best season since 1996 as the Bulldogs finished 8-3-0 overall for the 2006 gridiron campaign. FSU claimed third place in the final GLIAC standings as a result of a 7-3-0 conference mark.

The award is named in honor of the late Morley Fraser, who was a longtime football coach at Albion (Mich.) College and an advocate of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).

The University of Michigan's senior wide receiver Carl Tabb was the Division I honoree while Alma (Mich.) College senior quarterback Josh Brehm was chosen as the award's recipient for Division III.